It's early 2020 in the Indian town of Molipur, Gudara.

Shodavda is a wiry bangle merchant with an even more wiry beard,

and he's in deep trouble. His story is failing and since his

father's death he's the sole breadwinner for his wife and five kids.

Daphneesista think quick.

Northern Gujarat is agri-country, so he gets a fat loan from the bank, over $20,000, and spends it on cattle and a cow shed.

Safe bets, or so he thinks.

Soon after, COVID hits.

The government in New Delhi acts and almost 1.4 billion people are locked down. Industry grinds to a halt. People go without food

in Gujarat and Davdas but in business dies almost overnight. It's a disaster.

Davdha is desperate. almost overnight is a disaster.

DAFDA is desperate and he needs a quick fix.

Fortunately, Gudra is home to one of the most thriving human trafficking networks

on Earth, ferrying people from the massive 60 million populated state

into North America and Europe.

A friend tells Doveda he can make bank working on a Mediterranean island named Malta.

But he can't fly their direct.

Instead, Davda will get to Moscow, where contacts will hook him up with a Maltese visa.

By January 2022, Davda is in the Russian capital,

where he meets a man he's only known via the messaging app, Telegram, as Misha.

Only Davda never makes it to Malta. Instead,

Mischa dispatches him to a suburban Moscow factory where he boxes toys by day

...