The veil of gold

the long version

"When the statue of a golden bear is found walled up in a dilapidated St. Petersburg bathhouse owned by her family, Rosa Kovalenka knows in her heart that this is no trick of fate. Her uncle thinks of treasure, but Rosa fears the bear is much more. She pleads with her old friend and lover, researcher Daniel St. Clare, to help identify the relic and perhaps take the bear far away from those she loved. St. Clare agrees and sets out for the university in Arkangelsk with the bear to verify its age. But along the way his journey is mysteriously set adrift: Maps are suddenly useless, cars and cell phones inexplicably stop working, and, lost and exhausted, he stumbles, sinking even deeper into the secrets and terrors of the Russian landscape."--dust cover flap.