Joe, an impressionable young American, journeys to Leningrad and Moscow in search of a more satisfying world. Immediately drawn to a wistful young Russian woman, Zoya, Joe follows her into the dark underworld of the Russian black market, where his idealistic view of Russia is challenged by the venality and ethical depravity that confront him. There Zoya introduces him to Gerald, a cynical, dissipated American, determined to ruthlessly exploit the collapse of the Soviet Union.

As Joe is ineluctably drawn into their barren, amoral world, he discovers the invidious secret that manacles Zoya inextricably to Gerald. Suddenly Joe finds himself the third player in one of the most intense sexual and emotional triangles in recent literature. As he struggles to liberate Zoya from Gerald's grasp, Joe must come to terms with his own helplessness and emotional inanition. In a surrealistic conclusion, Plante explores the complex ethical implications of the end of idealism.

The Age of Terror, a disturbing novel with mysterious and unexpected twists, proclaims a universal theme of sacredness and ultimate redemption.