In February of 1959, nine Russian hikers ventured into a remote area of the Ural Mountains. Two weeks later, all of them were found dead. What happened is a mystery that has baffled investigators and researchers for decades. It has become known as the Dyatlov Pass Incident. When five ambitious American college students are issued a grant to return to the site of the original events, they gear up with the belief that they can uncover and document the truth of what happened to the supposedly experienced hikers. But what they find is more shocking than anything they could have imagined. Retracing the steps of the Russians' ill-fated journey, the students are plagued by strange and increasingly terrifying phenomena that suggest that in spite of the desolate surroundings, they are not alone. The forces at work in the Dyatlov Pass Incident have been waiting for them.
A band of determined Russian soldiers fight to hold a strategic building in their devastated city against a ruthless German army, and in the process become deeply connected to a Russian woman who has been living there.
The year is 1915. Europe is engulfed in the flames of the First World War. At this time, the revolutionary theorist, political emigrant and adventurer Alexander Parvus is holding talks with the German Foreign Minister, Gottlieb von Jagow. The negotiations end with unexpected success. The German government personally allocates "a lot of money" to Parvus, which should go to the revolution in Russia. This is the beginning of a story that tells not only about the life of this extraordinary man and his role in the historical events that ended in October 1917.