In a dystopian future, a man tries to convince his daughter not to return to the cult that has put her in debt through a disturbing, invented currency which bonds humans together.

An American college student who studies Russian history heads to St. Petersburg at the the end of the Cold War and becomes attracted to her roommate's boyfriend, a former soldier. His stories, along with her interactions with other college students, add to her experience of a tentative social environment in post-war Russia.