The story revolves around Vera Svyblova and Anton Vyazin, who work for the Russian foreign intelligence service. They have been living in Washington for a long time under the names Catherine and Georges Gautier. The main characters' task is to uncover the details of a secret operation developed by the United States government and prevent an economic collapse of the Russian Federation. To do this, they must infiltrate American society and learn the specifics of the plan codenamed "Zone of Influence."