Svetlana Nemirovskaya
When long-time British agent Harry Palmer loses his job because the Cold War is over, he's promptly approached by a Russian bossman, Alex. In St. Petersburg Alex tells Harry of his plan for Russia's future, which is threatened because a deadly biochemical weapon called the Red Death has been stolen from him. He'll pay Harry handsomely to retrieve it. An ex-spy friend tips Harry off that it's being sent to Beijing by train, aboard which we begin to learn whose side everyone's really on.
In the 21st century, a plague virtually wipes out the entire human race. The only human survivors become slaves and prostitutes for cyborgs - machines with human brains and human desires who have taken over the planet. It is cyborg law that should any human be born, it must be turned over to them, so when one human couple unexpectedly produces the first child in 30 years an all-out battle for survival and freedom is fought between the humans and cyborgs. The child is captured by the leader of the cyborgs and taken to their mysterious fortress. Now the humans must fight to save the infant child or lose the human race forever.
At the center of it is the fate of young women in the war and in the harsh post-war times, when witch-hunting of "enemies of the people" was a common occurrence. The brutal war is mutilating both the girls' bodies and their souls. Location: military hospital. It is just a backdrop to which the character rattles, the intrigue, the human relationships. The pathos of the tape conveys the idea that a woman is and remains a woman in all circumstances and situations. During the tumultuous years of war, they were also overwhelmed by true love, mutual understanding, trust and tenderness.
