Misha is desperate to return to his true love, Rouenna, whom he met while she was working at a "titty bar".

After Misha's father kills a prominent Oklahoma businessman, the INS bars the entire Vainberg family from entry into the United States.

Soon afterwards, Misha has the opportunity to buy a Belgian passport from a corrupt diplomat in the fictitious ex-Soviet republic of Absurdsvanϊ (also known as Absurdistan).

They hate each other due to their dispute over the proper direction in which the "footrest" of the Orthodox cross is to be tilted.

[citation needed] Lev Grossman of Time called the book "a satire that is profoundly funny, genuinely moving and wholly lovable.