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Investigator Arkady Renko has been suspended from the Moscow prosecutor's office for smashing through the corruption of Russia's underbelly to uncover unpleasant truths. Despite this, he strives to solve a final case: a young woman is found dead in a work shed on the perimeter of Moscow's main rail hub, and Renko is the only one who recognises it to be more than a simple drug overdose. The case quickly unveils itself as an entangled web of murder, money and madness that stretches from the lowest of street urchins to the powerful billionaires, uncovering the extent of corruption and fear in an emergent Russia.

Praise for Martin Cruz Smith

'The story drips with atmosphere and authenticity – a literary triumph' David Young, bestselling author of Stasi Child 

‘Smith not only constructs grittily realistic plots, he also has a gift for characterisation of which most thriller writers can only dream' Mail on Sunday

'Smith was among the first of a new generation of writers who made thrillers literary'  Guardian

'Brilliantly worked, marvellously written . . . an imaginative triumph'  Sunday Times

‘Martin Cruz Smith’s Renko novels are superb’ William Ryan, author of The Constant Soldier