Darcee Inov, a sharp-tongued goth forced into an arranged marriage with feared crime boss Aleksandr Petrovski, begins their relationship with open hostility. He fascinates her because he’s powerful, observant, and frighteningly perceptive; she fascinates him because she’s the only person who doesn’t fear or obey him. Their early connection is through nightly phone calls where they trade insults and psychological sparring, yet he shows her a level of patience and restraint no one else receives.