Moonlight in Odessa

After graduating with an engineering degree and six months of job hunting, Daria Kirilenko finally finds a position that actually pays—a feat in post-perestroika Odessa, Ukraine, where government employees go to work, but don’t get paid; where taxi drivers earn more than doctors; where Odessans depend on the mafia rather than the government for basics like phone service and medical supplies.

Daria’s plum job is with a foreign firm as a secretary, which pays $300 a month when the average is only $30. But every plum has a pit. In this case, it’s Mr. Harmon, who states, “Sleeping with me is part of the job.” Daria takes the job and takes on her boss, who she manages to outsmart and outmaneuver—at least at first.

Under pressure to support herself and her grandmother, Daria lines up a second job at the matchmaking agency. She works as an interpreter and helps organize socials, parties where men unable to find girlfriends in the States are introduced to Ukrainian women desperate to get to the West. Daria tells herself that moonlighting is just a way to make some extra money. She’s not looking for a mate, but her boss, Valentina, talks her into corresponding with Tristin, a client from California.

Daria doesn’t write much at first. She’s got her hands full with Vladimir Stanislavski, the most intimidating, compelling mobster in Odessa. Daria fears that Vlad views her as a challenge. She throws up every barrier she can, but he keeps breaking them down.

When Tristin travels to Odessa to meet Daria, she must choose between the young, sexy gangster and the gentle, older teacher who offers a stable future in California. Daria chooses America, only it’s not what she thought it would be.