Sent to a mysterious unnamed city in Soviet Russia, former nuclear specialist Valery Kolkhanov must serve out his prison sentence studying the effect of radiation on local animals and struggles to find answers about what is being hidden from the thousands who live in the town.

1963, in a Siberian gulag. Former nuclear specialist Valery Kolkhanov has mastered what it takes to survive: the right connections to the guards for access to food and cigarettes, the right pair of warm boots to avoid frostbite, and the right attitude toward the small pleasures of life so he won't go insane. Then his university mentor steps in and sweeps Valery from the frozen prison camp to a mysterious unnamed town that houses a set of nuclear reactors and is surrounded by a forest so damaged it looks like the trees have rusted from within. In City 40, Valery is Dr. Kolkhanov once more, and he is expected to serve out his prison term studying the effect of radiation on local animals. But Valery questions his research: why is there so much radiation in this area? What, exactly, is being hidden from the thousands who live in the town? And if he keeps looking for answers, will he live to serve out his sentence? - adapted from jacket