The Oligarch's Daughter

Back onshore, Paul cleans the entire boat with bleach. He heads home, hoping that no one saw him out with Fredrick. Later that day, he cooks the striped bass that he forced himself to catch after killing Fredrick (so that he would have an alibi for the time he was out) and glumly contemplates his situation. He has been living in Derryfield, undetected, for five years. He has no idea how his true identity was discovered, but Paul knows that he must disappear. He tells Sarah that he will be out of touch for a while.

A few days later, a police officer shows up at his house. The officer explains that he’s looking for a missing man named Fredrick Newman. Lyle had told the officer that Grant/Paul was supposed to take Fredrick out but that Grant/Paul reported him as a no-show. Paul confirms this, and the officer seems satisfied and leaves.

Alec Wood, the police chief and one of Grant’s/Paul’s friends, shows up at his place. He tells Grant/Paul that the FBI is on their way, presumably to discuss the missing man. Alec adds that he got the impression Grant/Paul was in a little bit of trouble and that he would help in any way he could. Paul thanks him but claims that there is nothing amiss. Panicked, he heads to the hardware store and gathers supplies for his “Go Bag,” preparing to leave town. He returns home in time to see a man whom he recognizes as Andrei Berzin—the chief enforcer of his father-in-law, Arkady Galkin—fatally shoot Alec.

Paul heads out of town, going north, hoping that Berzin won’t be able to find him among the increasingly smaller and more rural roads in that part of New Hampshire. He calls Sarah to warn her that some “bad men” might be after her, but he gives no other details. Then, suddenly, he reaches a dead end.

While trying to make it into the woods to hide, Paul crashes his SUV. He has to proceed on foot. He knows it is going to be a difficult trek, and he does not feel entirely prepared for this test of his survival skills.

The novel switches to a flashback that describes how Paul first meets Tatyana Belkin, his wife, at a charity work event. At first, he mistakes her for one of the catering staff because she is dressed in a white blouse and black pants, but he soon finds out that she is attending the gala. She introduces herself, and Paul stuns her by speaking Russian, which he correctly assumes is her first language. She agrees to a date, and the two go out for a drink that night.

Paul and Tatyana go on a second date. They have instant chemistry, and the two find that they have much in common. Both have complicated family histories. Paul’s mother was a painter, and Tatyana is a photographer. Paul is smitten by her.

Tatyana lives in the East Village with a small dog named Pushkin. Many of her photographs are displayed on the walls, and Paul is struck by their beauty. He asks about her work, and she tells him that she approaches her subjects with compassion and understanding. She loves portraiture. The two have sex, and afterward, they share stories of their families. Paul tells her about his father, a Vietnam veteran and computer genius who grew increasingly disillusioned with modern society and moved off the grid. His mother, he explains, died of breast cancer when he was a teenager. Tatyana says little about her parents, though she discloses that her father lives in the US and her mother in Moscow.

When Paul’s mother died, his father wanted him to live in his lean-to in the woods, but Paul adamantly refused. Instead, he went to live with his uncle Thomas in Boston. Thomas was kind and loving and welcomed Paul into his home. Paul lived with Thomas and his two sons until he left for college. Thomas taught him how to build boats, and the two became close. Thomas suffered a stroke at the age of 55 and ended up in an assisted-living facility. Paul still visits his uncle as often as he can.

Paul has drinks with his friend Rick, who works at a nonprofit that educates women about HIV/AIDS. He tells Rick about Tatyana, and the two make plans to go on a double date soon with Rick’s wife.

Paul is still working his way up the corporate ladder at Aquinnah. He is a skilled investigator and is often able to find out important information about potential investments. He is a valued employee and has a good relationship with his boss, Bernie.

Paul and Tatyana go on another date. Tatyana wants a stable boyfriend, and Paul is thrilled to have found someone who, although from a different world, is so in tune with him.

Paul has drinks with Rick and his wife, Mary Louise. Paul gushes about Tatyana, and Rick and Mary Louise are thrilled that their friend has found someone.

Back in the present, Paul makes his way on foot, hoping to travel west to where his friend Lou lives. He checks his direction on a compass periodically. As he walks, he thinks of the lessons that his father taught him about survival after he’d given up on society and moved to the woods. Paul walks for most of the day before he realizes that he’s been traveling northwest rather than west. He’s lost hours, and he is nowhere near Lou’s.

Paul wonders if the batteries in his cell phone might have scrambled the compass. He knows that magnets can affect compasses. He reflects how disappointed his father would be and then pushes the thought aside. With difficulty, he lights a small fire. He once again thinks that his father would be disappointed in how long it took him to start the blaze. His father had taken him on many instructive camping trips, and Paul seems to have retained very little of what he was taught.

Paul recalls disappearing. He researched how to assume a new identity before leaving New York. It was not easy to slip out of one life and into another: The internet, 9/11, the widespread use of surveillance cameras, and a whole host of other new technologies made it difficult to disappear, yet he did it. He moved to the small town of Derryfield, New Hampshire, and he lived there for five years without being detected.

Paul makes a small shelter for himself and tries to sleep. Again, he thinks of his father. He finds sleep elusive but finally begins to drift off. However, just as he is about to fall asleep, he hears a sound that has no place in the forest: something electronic. Terrified, he knows that it is too late to try to run. Moments later, he hears the sound of footsteps.