Nikolai, a Russian hit-man escapes from his adversaries into the streets of Los Angeles. He is taken into the household of Lesley and her son Johnny. In exchange for refuge, Nikolai repairs the single mother's decaying house and symbolically mends fences between everyday people of Russia and the U.S. When enemies get too close to his new home, Nikolai makes his escape to Montana.

The only U.S. Marshal assigned to Antarctica, Carrie Stetko will soon leave the harsh environment behind for good – in three days, the sun will set and the Amundsen-Scott Research Station will shut down for the long winter. When a body is discovered out on the open ice, Carrie's investigation into the continent's first homicide plunges her deep into a mystery that may cost her her own life.