Alik is a former Soviet soldier who has relocated to Coney Island only to become a gangland enforcer He&s haunted by memories of his past & the only thing that soothes his angst is booze heroin & his lover the prostitute Marina But as much as Alik encourages her to break away from the ganglord who owns her Marina can&t because of her daughter who never leads the ganglord&s side So Alik comes up with a desperate plan to save all three of them & in doing so he&ll find he&s destined to repeat the past over & over again including a past or two he might not even be aware he has in a story that flashes from present- day run down Coney Island to the Russia of 10 years ago during the Second Chechen War to turn of the 20th century Coney Island when the area was at its peak amusement park glory & wonder