Ruso is the story of Steponas Simutas (aka Ruso), a second-generation Soviet Lithuanian mercenary who finds himself caught between clashing ideologies in 1983 as communism begins its decline in Latin America. Moving from Peru to Cuba to the United States to the Soviet Union and other locales, Ruso's story runs parallel to that of Bob Winer, a handsome, bumbling television journalist, who stumbles into international incidents he doesn't understand. As events unfold, representatives of the European business community recognize that American involvement in Afghanistan and Nicaragua will lead to changes in the political landscape of Latin America and aim to take advantage of them.