Wet Gold

“In a quiet pond, devils are found”—life once again confirms the truth of that saying. Year 1990. A shy guy, Filipp Vychyorev, had his grandfather die, and in the empty village house there remained a large moonshine still with a rectification setup, a steam boiler, a distiller, and a refrigerator—everything worked reliably. Filipp plunged with friends into a profitable—and extremely dangerous—business of producing illegal vodka. Quick money turned heads fast, and the timid guy on his eyes became a greedy and cruel entrepreneur. First, he gets rid of two accomplices so they won’t share profits. Then he frames his closest friend Erik, who ends up in pretrial detention and receives a hefty sentence. When Erik is finally released, he meets a completely different country—different economy, different orders and laws. What remained unchanged, at least, was the former friend—still just as cruel, leaving the same bloody traces behind…

“Vladimir Bogdanov’s work is aching-heart nostalgia; it’s an extremely vivid and juicy world of youth; it’s when everything is maximized: feelings, loyalty, oaths, and fights… You simply wonder how important for us were once the ideas of Honor, Friendship, and Love. The book tears your soul with its directness and sincerity—and at the same time it heals…”—Alexey MAKEEV, writer, co-author of detective novels about investigator Gurov.
Author of the novel, Vladimir Bogdanov—whose youth and early adulthood fell on the years of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the wreck of morals and customs, values and life ideals—went through dramatic trials in a youth group, where he learned both friendship and betrayal, loyalty to one’s word and love.