This is a novel about modern Russia. The main action takes place in a provincial town against the backdrop of the campaign for elections to the State Duma. One of the two main characters, a successful Moscow political strategist, works for the candidate - a wealthy businessman close to the criminal world. To guarantee his victory, the political strategist comes up with a cunning move, involving as a front player the little-known shop manager of a local plant, an orthodox communist. But the adventure does not end as harmlessly as the political strategist had hoped: the shop manager, in unusual conditions, reveals himself as a bright personality and quickly becomes the leader of the election race. He already sees himself as a State Duma deputy when a political strategist demands that he withdraw from the elections. It all ends quite dramatically.