The Oligarch's Daughter

After dinner, Tatyana is upset. She assures Paul that she doesn’t care about his money and points out how modestly she lives. He knows her too well to doubt her love for him, and the two share a passionate embrace. He asks about her family, and she reluctantly invites him to her father and stepmother’s upcoming anniversary party. She seems nervous on the day of the party. Paul is stunned to discover that her father lives in two connected townhomes on the affluent Upper East Side. Contrary to what Mary Louise thought, he realizes that Tatyana probably has more money than he does.

The connected townhomes are opulent. Everything is covered in gold leaf, the floors are marble, and signs of Tatyana’s family wealth are everywhere. Paul realizes that Tatyana is surely an oligarch’s daughter and that she has been keeping her family secret from him because she is ashamed of their wealth. This is probably why she lives so modestly, although her parents do pay her rent.

Tatyana introduces Paul to her father, Arkady Galkin. Her father already knows which hedge fund Paul works for. He tells Paul that he’s pleased that Tatyana has finally found a boyfriend with a good work ethic. Arkady notes that he, too, grew up without much money and seems to respect Paul for being self-made. Paul then meets Tatyana’s stepmother, Polina, who is somewhat inscrutable. Overall, Paul thinks, the first meeting goes well.

Back at Tatyana’s apartment, the two talk. Paul is upset that Tatyana kept her family’s wealth a secret from him, but she tries to explain why. She says that she uses her mother’s last name and doesn’t live ostentatiously because she wants to establish her own identity. She adores her father, but she wants her own life. In the past, her boyfriends used her for her money, and she developed a fear that men would only ever want to date her because of her wealth. Paul sees her point. The argument fizzles out, and Tatyana surprises Paul by proposing marriage.

Paul meets Rick for a drink. He tells Rick that he and Tatyana are engaged and also shares Tatyana’s family history. Rick has heard of Arkady Galkin. He laughs at his wife’s characterization of Tatyana as a “gold-digger” but then cautions Paul. In his opinion, Russian oligarchs are “bad guys,” and he isn’t sure that Arkady will ever fully welcome Paul into his family or trust him. He also doesn’t think that Paul should trust Arkady.

Paul and Tatyana attend Tatyana’s weekly family dinner, where they announce their engagement. Arkady beams and welcomes Paul to the family. Polina and Tatyana’s brother, Niko, are less polite, and Paul does not quite feel comfortable with the entire Galkin crew.

Arkady pulls Paul aside for a conversation. He shows him an actual Fabergé egg, a priceless artifact crafted for the last Russian czars. There were only 50 made, and he has one. He then tells Paul that he will have to sign a prenup but that he would like to give Paul $50,000 of his money to invest. Arkady wants to see how much money Paul can make for the family. He is aware of how much money Paul has made for Aquinnah investments, and he is impressed. Paul is stunned and agrees, but he immediately regrets it.

Paul and Tatyana return to Tatyana’s apartment; they had a little too much to drink and are tired. They wake in the middle of the night, and Paul shares Arkady’s insistence that he sign a prenup and his request for Paul to invest some money for him. Tatyana notes that this means that Arkady likes and trusts Paul, but Paul is still nervous. He worries that the market might fluctuate and that he might lose some or all of Arkady’s money.

Paul is hungover the next day at work. His boss, Bernie, tells him that Arkady already wired over $50,000. Paul explains that he’s marrying Tatyana and that Arkady asked him to invest that money. Bernie knows who Arkady is and cautions Paul that this isn’t an “ordinary” family to marry into. Paul likes Bernie but brushes off the comment, explaining that he likes Arkady and loves Tatyana. Then, Paul hatches a plan to invest the money.

Paul’s plan works, and he doubles Arkady’s money. Arkady is stunned and offers Paul a job. Paul demurs, claiming to be happy at Aquinnah and working for Bernie. When he tells Tatyana, she is also stunned. She explains that her father is not sentimental about money. If he wants Paul to work for him, it means that he actually trusts and respects him. The offer is good: Paul could double or triple his income. He wonders what the right move is.

Tatyana has her first gallery show, and her portraits are beautiful. They show ordinary people on the street with humanity and grace, and Paul is proud of her. Her family also attends the show, and Paul is heartbroken to see Tatyana’s interactions with them: Niko doesn’t like the portraits and openly claims that all of her success will be the result of Arkady’s influence. Polina calls photography a “hobby” and is clearly trying to outshine Tatyana with the elegance (and high price tag) of her outfit. Arkady is genuinely proud of his daughter, but he commands all the attention in the gallery. Without realizing it, he becomes the star of the show. Paul understands why Tatyana wants distance from her family.

Tatyana has a nightmare and screams in her sleep. Paul asks her about it in the morning, and she tells him that it’s a recurring dream in which her parents abandon her. She explains that her father was often absent when she was young and that she has abandonment issues.

There is a disaster at Aquinnah: One of the divisions loses so much money on an investment that the firm runs out of cash on hand. No one else can invest anything, and no one gets their scheduled bonus. Paul decides to accept Arkady’s job offer. Bernie warns him about Arkady, claiming that there are rumors that Arkady’s enemies have a way of disappearing. He says that he thinks Paul is making a mistake, but Paul respectfully disagrees.

Back in the present, Paul hears voices in the woods. It’s three in the morning, so they cannot be casual hikers. He realizes that they are speaking Russian. As they approach, he strains to understand their conversation. He picks out the words “Grant Anderson,” “woods,” and “running.” They do not see him in his improvised shelter, and he silently thanks his father for teaching him how to build camouflaged hiding spots.

It begins to rain. Although this makes hiking difficult, Paul also knows that it will hide his tracks. He tries to remember everything his father taught him on their weekly excursions into the woods. He struggles to navigate in the rain, but he manages to find a running stream since its water will be safer to drink. He portions out his protein bars and tries to remain calm. Once again, however, he hears voices approaching, so he presses on.

In a flashback to the past, Paul arrives for his first day of work at Arkady’s firm. The offices are sumptuous. His coworkers, with the exception of Tatyana’s brother, Niko, seem smart and capable. Paul is to report to Arkady’s second-in-command, Mr. Frost. Mr. Frost was born with the last name Morozov in Russia. “Morozov” means “frost,” and when he immigrated to the United States, he anglicized his name. Arkady is welcoming but tells Paul that he was surprised when he took the job: He knows that he is sometimes called an “oligarch” and that oligarchs have an undeservedly bad reputation in the United States.

One of Paul’s coworkers, Chad, invites him out for drinks after the first day so that he can help Paul acclimate to his new position. He tells Paul that everyone at the firm is “ethically challenged”—they were let go from their previous positions for offenses like skimming funds, breaking the rules for clients, or other ethics breaches. Arkady doesn’t mind when his workers lack personal ethics, as long as they make money.

Paul meets with Arkady and Bill Downing, Arkady’s lawyer. They present him with a prenuptial agreement. Paul has an attorney friend look over the document and discovers that he will get nothing from Tatyana if they divorce. This seems fair to him since he believes that Tatyana’s money is hers, not his.

Paul arrives home and sees that Tatyana is vaping, which means that she’s anxious. She tells him that she knows about the prenup. He explains to her that although his lawyer thinks he’s making the wrong decision, he plans to sign it. He does not want her money, and he does not want to get divorced.

Paul works long hours, but his job is initially not so different from the work he did at Aquinnah. Then, one day, Mr. Frost tells him to buy $50 million worth of StratforTec stock without researching it. The order, he explains, comes from Arkady. Paul, who is in charge of all US stocks, is unwilling to purchase a stock without vetting it. Furious, Mr. Frost storms off.

That night, Paul has drinks with Larsen, another colleague. Larsen explains that sometimes employees are asked to do things that don’t make much sense but are expected to do so quietly. He was just asked to purchase real estate in a remote corner of New Mexico for reasons that remain murky. Larsen is sure that something illegal is afoot, but he doesn’t yet know what.

Bernie invites Paul out for drinks, but when he arrives, Bernie leaves him alone with a third man, Mark Addison. He turns out to be an FBI agent who wants Paul to report back to them on Arkady’s business deals and possible connections to the Kremlin. Paul adamantly refuses.

Paul arrives home to find Tatyana vaping and drinking wine. She is upset that he works so much and frustrated about the wedding plans. Her stepmother, Polina, wants the celebration to be extremely opulent so that they can advertise their wealth to their friends. She, Arkady, and Tatyana have been arguing about all the details, and Polina is now refusing to attend the wedding if Tatyana’s mother is invited. Paul suggests a secret wedding at city hall, and Tatyana seems elated. Later, Paul gets a text from Mr. Frost: Paul is to fly to Chicago tomorrow on Arkady’s plane. He does not provide any further details.

On the plane, Arkady tells Paul a lengthy story about mushroom hunting in order to make a broader point about buying stocks. Paul asks if he is talking about StratforTech, the stock that Paul is hesitant to buy. Arkady insists that Paul purchase the stock anyway. Paul pushes back, explaining that if Arkady has insider knowledge that is going to impact a stock’s future price, Paul cannot act on it without becoming the target of an SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) investigation: Insider trading is illegal. Arkady just smiles and tells him to purchase the stock. He also tells Paul that he will be accompanying him to Moscow in the coming days. When they arrive in Chicago, Paul is told to fly back to New York.

Paul arrives home in a bad mood. He tells Tatyana about his day, and to his surprise, she gets angry. She explains that her father is tough because he has to be and insists that he’s a good guy. She tells Paul never to pit her against her father and to be more respectful to her father at work. Though Paul is growing slightly more worried about what kind of man Arkady actually is, he tries to diffuse the situation, telling Tatyana that he’ll try to be better. She tells him that she’s found a city hall appointment. The next day, they get married in secret. As they exit the building, however, they see Arkady and Polina outside. They are smiling, but Arkady pulls Paul aside and tells him that if he cheats on or hurts Tatyana, he’ll have him killed.

The next day, at work, Paul finds out that Larsen died of an intentional drug overdose. He’s stunned because Larsen told him that he didn’t drink. Chad takes Paul outside and explains that Larsen was uncomfortable with some of the purchases he was supposed to make and had “talked” to someone outside the firm. Paul knows that Larsen must have been concerned about insider trading. Chad alleges that Larsen’s death was staged—he claims that he was murdered. Paul is stunned. Chad says very little else, but he tells Paul to keep his mouth shut about anything he finds suspicious.