Christiania, Norway 1721 Deaf investigator, Brander Hansen, is convinced that the man he glimpsed in Christiania is his childhood friend, though that man's headless body was discovered weeks ago. Catching the suspect leaving a tavern, Brander follows. He is attacked by the man's thugs, taken prisoner, and dumped in St. Petersburg where he cannot read their writing or their lips. With nothing but the clothes on his back, Brander struggles to survive...