It was named a New York Times Notable Book and one of the best debuts of the year by The Guardian [2] The novel opens on the 25th birthday of its protagonist, Vladimir Girshkin.

Rybakov introduces himself as the father of the Groundhog, a mafia figure in the Eastern European city of Prava / Prague, referred to in the book as "the Paris of the 90s".

He goes out drinking with his friend Baobab one night, where he meets a young woman named Francesca, who comes from a wealthy family and has attended a prestigious university.

Dating Francesca stretches Vladimir's limited means to such a degree that he is forced to borrow money, first from his parents, and then from Mr. Rybakov.

Vladimir quickly becomes an important figure to these students, and begins dating a young girl from Cleveland named Morgan.

But Mr. Rybakov finds out that he is not a real citizen of the US, and the Groundhog punishes Vladimir by taking him to an unknown city and allowing skinheads to beat him.