Similar in family background and education, from different cultures but the same generation, working at comparable levels for their respective governments, one born in Soviet Russia, the other in Imperialist Japan, two iconoclasts dedicate their lives to improving life in their countries and not just following orders or improving their personal positions. They come together at the United Nations in New York in the 1950s, later again in Far Eastern Siberia, and finally in Japan in the early 1990s as the Soviet coup d'etat against Mikhail Gorbachev threatens to undo their efforts to improve lives in both their countries.

Recent political events from around the world have shown us what happens to Foreign Service Officers, public servants and patriots when they act with integrity and dedication towards the best interests of their fellow citizens instead of their putative "superiors."

Russia has once again thrust itself onto our collective consciousnesses and it might be informative for people to see how we got here and the kind of people we need to get us out!