Siberia, 1963: Former nuclear specialist Valery Kolkhanov knows how to survive in prison—make the right connections, stay warm, and find small pleasures to keep from losing his mind. But when his former university mentor unexpectedly intervenes, Valery is whisked away from the frozen camp to the shadowy City 40.
In this mysterious town, surrounded by rusting forests and housing a set of nuclear reactors, Valery is reinstated as Dr. Kolkhanov. Tasked with studying the effects of radiation on local wildlife, Valery soon discovers troubling questions his work raises—questions even his overseer, a surprisingly kind KGB officer named Shenkov, fears to answer.
What is the source of the radiation? What is being hidden from the thousands who live in the city? And how far can Valery push for the truth before it costs him everything?
