The illusion seems part political hocus-pocus and part wishful thinking, for among many Russians Stalin is again popular - the bloody dictator can boast a two-to-one approval rating. That's decidedly better than that of Renko, whose lover, Eva, has left him for Detective Nikolai Isakov, a charismatic veteran of the civil war in Chechnya, a hero of the far right and, Renko suspects, a killer for hire. The cases entwine, and Renko's quests become a personal inquiry fueled by jealousy.

The investigation leads to the fields of Tver outside of Moscow, where once a million soldiers fought. There, amidst the detritus, Renko must confront the ghost of his own father, a favorite general of Stalin's. In these barren fields, patriots and shady entrepreneurs, the Red Diggers and Black Diggers, collect the bones, weapons, and personal effects of slain World War II soldiers, and find that even among the dead there are surprises.