Grand Scale Larceny

It all starts with a murder in Antwerp by people connected to Chechnya and the Russian Mafia. There are repercussions in Washington DC where Hannah Jacobs is the curator for the new National Museum of Art. She is organizing a unique exhibition of more than thirty Flemish Primitives paintings. They are on their way from various European countries to the United States when they disappear one shipment at a time. Follow Hannah’s attempt to solve the heist of over a half billion dollars in irreplaceable masterworks from the fifteenth century. When she gets close the mafia gets even closer to her. The Bratva or “Brotherhood” in Russia employs ex-Spetsnaz enforcers. Their conflict with Chechen criminal elements shows a free-for-all period in a Russia under Yeltsin and Putin. Their experience in money laundering makes them look for large projects with large gain. Will the Chechens win out over the mighty mafia? Will the outcome mimic the current political situation and the Chechens’ ongoing fight for independence?