Nick Platt seems such a sad sort. We never find out about his past or his future. The book is written as a letter to his fiancee about a time in his life when he lived and practiced law in Moscow. It portrays an eye-opening awareness of modern day Russia and the struggles of citizens who want to create a better world but are continued to be drawn into the corrupt world of their past. Moscow is a city of "hedonism and desperation, corruption and kindness..." The book is an easy read, but I found it imbalanced by portraying just a capsule of the bigger picture of the characters