One of \"The Telegraph\"\'s Best Fiction Books 2011 Moscow, 2028. A scream, a moan, and a death rattle slowly pull Andrei Danilovich Komiaga out of his drunken stupor. But wait--that\'s just his ring tone. So begins another day in the life of an oprichnik, one of the czar\'s most trusted courtiers--and one of the country\'s most feared men....

Moscow has been hit by a wave of brutal murders. The victims are of both sexes, from different backgrounds, and of all ages, but invariably blond and blue-eyed. They are found with their breastbones smashed in, their hearts crushed. There is no sign of any motive. Drugs, sex, and violence are the currency of daily life in Moscow....

Peut-on vraiment sonder le caur des hommes ? Une secte moscovite etrange invente une methode radicale : donner des coups de marteau frenetiques dans le sternum. Et gare a ceux dont la poitrine sonne creux... De la Russie stalinienne a l\'Occident contemporain, une fable dejantee et provocante, critique fievreuse d\'un monde desacralise....