USSR, autumn 1989. A vast empire is falling apart at the seams; any moment now, this glacier will break through the dam of diplomacy and military alliances and rush downward, sweeping away everything in its path. Captain Nechaev is forced to return to duty after a failed special operation. In Moscow, a colleague asks Nechaev to keep an eye on the performers at the Berlin Music Hall, who are capable of transmitting encrypted information to an American journalist. This simple task sets the stage for a major story that will begin in Berlin, the GDR, where intelligence agencies from around the world will clash.