Moscow, 1936, and Stalin's Great Terror is beginning. In a deconsecrated church, a young woman is found dead, her multilated body displayed on the alter for all to see. Captain Alexei Dmitriyevich Korolev, finally beginning to enjoy the benefits of his success with the Criminal Militia, is asked to investigate

Captain Alexei Korolev endures threats against his family when a high-level murder is tied to corruption in State Security and the NKVD.