All begins with the main character Ivan Yermakov being interviewed, and as he begins his story cuts into the year 2000 during the Second Chechen War, after the fall of Grozny a Chechen warlord Aslan Gugayev runs a camp next to an aul in the highlands of Chechnya. Despite having secure income from his brigades in Moscow, Saint Peterburg and Samara as well as some legitimate business there, he takes joy in kidnapping.
Both Ivan and his comrade Fedka were enslaved after they were taken prisoners in early 2000. They also had to share their accommodation with a commercial Jewish hostage Semyon from Vladikavkaz who was held for ransom.