In this first episode Levison travels 700 miles along Russia's militarised southern border, enjoying the legendary hospitality of the Caucasian people while trying to avoid the close attentions of the Russian police. He passes through mountainous landscapes of breathtaking beauty, visits bizarre ruins of ancient civilisations, witnesses a mystical Sufi ceremony, and crosses the notorious former battleground of Chechnya - now ruled by a terrifying strongman - and into Dagestan, where Islamist terrorists hide out in the mountains.