Book excerpt: Against the vivid backdrop of a country replacing corrupt communism with an equally corrupt capitalism, the geologist-turned-mayor of Markovo becomes obsessed with a grisly murder. Ordered to investigate, Mayor Gregori Nowek, no detective, soon finds himself in a labyrinth of deception that nevertheless begins to yield clues that point first toward a scientist studying the nearly extinct Siberian tiger, the beautiful Dr. Anna Vereskaya and ultimately towards an American-financed oil exploration venture.