Soviet Union,1956. Stalin is dead, and a violent regime is beginning to fracture--leaving behind a society where the police are the criminals, and the criminals are innocent. A secret speech composed by Stalin's successor Khrushchev is distributed to the entire nation. Its message: Stalin was a tyrant. Its promise: The Soviet Union will change. Former State security officer Leo Demidov is also struggling to change. The two girls he and his wife Raisa adopted have yet to forgive him for his part in their parents' death. They are not alone. The family is in grave danger from someone consumed by the dark legacy of Leo's past career--someone transformed beyond recognition into the perfect model of vengeance.