A modern drama: assets become liabilities, ancient rites mingle with reality, evildoers meet their end from unheralded quarters, none is safe. This Darwinian tale of survival of the 'meanest' unfolds in Bulgaria before the Cold War's end. The plot culminates in the beginning where the reader glances at Byzantine business in Party circles. Another drama unfolds in Plovdiv and its mountain vicinity, rich history playing vital role. The local tigress brings a few new tricks to the fox chase game: business-only is her MO. In a village, 'a stone's throw from the border' a youth matures in the birthplace of Orpheus and Bacchus. History violently galloped in eons ago, leaving a painful open wound and let it to its own devices. The village witnesses again modern clashes and renewed mayhem. Brutal events repeat ancient history and everyday folks live up to ancestral honor, dignity and pride. The story ends in the ancient Varna, on the Black Sea coast ruled by a promiscuous first secretary and his equally unscrupulous wife. Ancient myths and present day feasts create an explosive muddle of carnality, violence and death, leading to the ultimate demise of the First regional couple.