Summary

The novel begins from the point of view of a stray dog. In italics, the narration conveys the dog’s inner thoughts. The dog is on the streets of Moscow in winter. He had gone to beg for food at a local Soviet cafeteria, but the cook had thrown boiling water on him. The boiling water has burned away much of the fur on his left side and has burned his skin in that area. The dog bemoans his mistreatment and fears that he may freeze to death in the cold or may die of hunger. He also fears being killed by street sanitation workers. However, he remains determined to live. The dog then bemoans more generally of the state of Moscow and its poorer citizens. He imagines an impoverished woman being taken advantage of financially by business owners and being taken advantage of sexually by...