Paul Darby, a former army officer and Sam Oliver, a recent college graduate from humble origins meet in modern day Saint Petersburg, Russia, a setting steeped in history, romance, and tragedy, where both have just been posted as junior diplomats to the American Consulate.  There they become fast friends; two young men who are eager to experience all that being strangers in a strange land might have to offer them. Over two years, Paul and Sam’s experiences are defined by the people they meet and the relationships that form, both with Russians and other foreigners like themselves. They have entered a lifestyle of hard partying and reckless pursuits, of trying to embrace the unknown while still clinging to the familiar.

 

The central story line follows Paul’s impassioned affair with the beautiful young English woman and fellow expatriate, Clara Woodburn, and his struggle for her affection versus Clara’s Russian boyfriend, Kostya, who is the main reason she has moved to Russia in the first place.  But the circumstances surrounding this affair are anything but straightforward and its consequences are far reaching.

 

Sam, for his part, must also negotiate a series of ambiguously defined relationships as he comes into his own in this world where nothing is black and white.  All of these flawed characters, each in their own way, must struggle to find exactly what is important in life and what they hope to get out of it, whether they deserve it or not.  But can they accomplish this without destroying themselves and/or those around them along the way?

 

This novel is a portrait of the excesses of the expatriate lifestyle.  It is a story about the danger of hope and the inherent selfishness of the human condition.  But it is also proof of the uniquely powerful love and friendship that can be found under such circumstances