Yevgenni Anatolevich Tarankov, the Tarantula, is determined to turn back the clock in the new Russia to a time when one man ruled with an iron hand. If Russia is to survive in the family of nations and continue on the path to an open and free society, the Tarantula must die. All that is needed is an assassin. Ex-CIA officer Kirk McGarvey soon finds that any chance for Russian democracy may rest on a bullet with the Tarantula's name on it.