A novel years ahead of its time, set in the final days of the Soviet Union and heralding the birth of the new Russia, this dark but finally transcendent novel proved controversial when first issued in the United States, but went on to sell out multiple editions in Russia and the states of Eastern Europe, where it was considered the finest and most accurate novel written by anyone about the human tragedies and triumphs at the end of the communist empire. Flames of Heaven follows the intertwined fates of a cynical artist squandering his talent, a failed-idealist veteran of Afghanistan, a stunning Central Asian beauty, and a young woman for whom religious faith is her only certainty. This is one of the enduring novels of our time.