A fairly popular American writer, originally from Russia, becomes an accidental witness to a strange conversation. Two extravagant madams at a table in an upscale restaurant discuss how to first seduce—and then marry—an oligarch. Pavel Savelev was struck not only by the candor of her friends’ talk about the intimate side of life (you won’t hear that in America!), but also by the variety of methods for getting married. A year later, the writer sees one of the beauties again—with a baby—and in the company of a well-known businessman. They didn’t look happy. And when, in their wordy squabble, the name of a Moscow cemetery and the date of the wife and children’s deaths were mentioned, the researcher’s spirit awakened in him. In pursuit of a new plot, Savelev himself becomes its hero…