Winter 2014. In London, Daniel Brooking is a successful fine art photographer on the eve of his latest exhibition. In Ukraine, the Euromaidan protests are in full swing. The sudden disappearance of Daniel’s Ukrainian assistant, Ivan, upends his comfortable existence and pitches him into a world of competing international interests, where the life of one photographer is considered a small price to pay to maintain a secret that has lain hidden for over two hundred years. Daniel is ultimately forced to rely on the most unlikely of allies, Mikhail Petrov, a professionally violent man, tortured by his own demons and seeking a new life in a new country where he can, perhaps, begin to make amends for his past. Mikhail’s struggle to live a better life is contrasted with the path taken by his brother, Vladimir. Vladimir craves violence, and the protests in Kiev offer abundant opportunity to indulge. His atrocities impact directly on Ivan’s sister, Yana, and in the aftermath of the killings at the height of the Euromaidan, she sets out to identify Vladimir and bring him to account.