The only person to help her is Zhenya, the young chess hustler who is a sometime ward of Arkady Renko, the police investigator.

Meanwhile, Arkady tries to prove that the overdose death of a young prostitute in the station is nothing of the sort, and is suspended for his trouble.

A billionaire casino owner with financial troubles offers to hire Arkady, but the latter can trust no-one.

Thugs, dwarves, ballerinas, Central Asians and a gang of homeless tweens complicate matters still further.

“Fumo ergo sum…” “…death would make up for a lifetime of sleep deprivation.” “…observant Jew who took seriously the Torah’s injunction against operating equipment during Shabbos….but he nodded off during a television documentary on Putin’s early years-Just Another Boy!-and awoke to a rebroadcast of the same show.