The Dragon Slayer

About the Book

Michael Rayback wanders from country to country with his Australian wife, Claudia. Their final destination is Russia, where they settle with two young children. Over time, Claudia begins to feel marginalized in her life at home. She views Michael as a house-husband and a slave to their daughters. In anger Claudia turns to a Russian businessman with money and power. Interested in Russian art, Claudia is attracted to Yuri's idea of smuggling icons across the border into Finland. Claudia gets caught. Yuri gets killed.

Claudia's defense at her trial is in the hands of an attractive young attorney, one of Michael's acquaintances. Claudia is suspicious, but Michael convinces her that Tanya is a brilliant trial lawyer with an impressive record of wins. Tanya's strategy rests on punishment, not on guilt or innocence. Central to Tanya's argument is a psychological profile of Claudia in the context of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

About the Author

Jonathan Hyde is the pen name for a professor whose teaching career focused on the old Soviet Union and the new Russian Federation. In retirement he travels back and forth to his home in Moscow.