The narrator of this fabulous narrative fresco has but one obsession: to build a successful career in a large American bank, whatever the cost. But when a terrible family tragedy unfolds, he is considered a suspect and narrowly avoids landing in jail!
Sent to Geneva to develop business with the Soviet Union, he befriends Pavel, a Russian who becomes an oligarch in the new system. Under pressure from the CIA and his mistress to betray his new friend, our narrator ditches everything and once again begins a new life, where he finds himself approached by the French and foreign intelligence services.
In the guise of a poignant personal story, the narrator dissects the relationship between his native country, his bitterest friend (America), and his best enemy (Russia).