In 1953 Soviet Russia, secret police agent Leo Demidov loses status, power, and home when he refuses to denounce his own wife, Raisa, as a traitor. Exiled from Moscow to a grim provincial outpost, Leo and Raisa join forces with General Mikhail Nesterov to track down a serial killer who preys on young boys. Their quest for justice threatens a system-wide cover-up by Leo's psychopathic rival Vasili, who insists there is no crime in paradise.