Scarred by the Chernobyl disaster, Fyodor Rakovsky, a standoffish, brilliant Soviet computer scientist, rebuilt his life after immigrating to Manhattan and climbing the ranks to management at a computer shop.

Determined to own the company when his boss retires, he has learned to keep his mouth shut and make moves in silence as he manipulates his naïve subordinate, Stanley, to gain power after finding out about his secret workplace union.