The Foreign Department

Genre: crime
Episodes:  16/24

Moscow'sstreets are too scary to walk down.  The Russian government is unable to protect foreigners.  Incompetent investigators reachdead-ends. Foreign newspapers make no bones about publishing headlines about the situation.

It all starts when the Russian President receives a report saying that foreign citizens in Russia are under-protectedand that the investigation of crimes against them arebelow par.  Due to their profile, regular law enforcement bodies are unableto tackle theproblems.

Meanwhile, these crimes are dealinga serious blow to Russia's reputation.  The mysterious death of a diplomat from the Britishembassyisthe last straw.

One night, as he was strolling admiringly throughSt Petersburg, the diplomat was attacked by muggers.  He tried to fight back, but they killed him.  However, the perpetrators didn't get away with it.  Their car exploded!

The tragedy caused massive outrage worldwide, with an avalanche of articles, diplomatic protests,and a statement by the UN.

The President issues an orderto set up a new body, the Foreign Department--a special agency set up to investigate crimes against foreigners.

Under the guidance of Colonel Kruchinin, the Department has put together a team of top-notch professionals with years of experience in the field.  Physically fit, highly intelligent, proficient in martial arts and handling firearms, they are also fluent in a number of foreign languages and are well versed in international law.

Each has a history, a background of his own.  One is a veteran soldier, returnedfrom a number of 'hot'spots, while another isa fresh-facedgraduate from the Intelligence Academy.

The only woman in the Department is Inga Melekh.  At the same time good-looking and smart, she dreams of a family and kids.  However, the only thing that prevents her from getting on with it, is her favourite  job.

Whenever faced with a choice between love and work, these dedicatedworkaholics will always choose the second option.

Their first case is the murder of the British diplomat.  It turns out that he was aformer UK intelligence officer whoused to collaborate with the Russian secret service.  It transpires that for some time the two governments have been hunting adouble agent who has more than once leaked confidential files to terrorists.

More and more people becomeinvolved, and with so much contradictory evidence, the case gets very murky.

However, there aren't manymissions that are impossible for the Foreign Department, and, although short-staffedfor the moment, they come to deal with the case single-handedly.

Crimes with a foreign element are not infrequent in Russia, and in most cases this involveshomicide.  But there are also otheroffences:  burglary, abduction, and even political conspiracy.

The Foreign Department has tocombatassassins, organized crime, and foreign special services.  It also has toface its first failure while hunting a serial killer.