It is 1989 and Daria Gradov is an elderly grandmother living in the rural West. What neighbours and even her children don't know, however, is that she is not who she claims to be - the widow of a Russian immigrant of modest means. In actuality she began her life as the Grand Duchess Tatiana, known as Tania to her parents, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra. And so begins the latest entrancing historical entertainment by Carolly Erickson. At its centre is young Tania, who lives a life of incomparable luxury in pre-Revolutionary Russia, from the magnificence of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to the family's private enclave outside the capital. Tania is one of four daughters, and the birth of her younger brother Alexei is both a blessing and a curse. When he is diagnosed with hemophilia and the key to his survival lies in the mysterious power of the illiterate monk Rasputin, it is merely an omen of much worse things to come. Soon war breaks out and revolution sweeps the family from power and into claustrophobic imprisonment in Siberia. Into Tania's world comes a young soldier whose life she helps to save and who becomes her partner in daring plans to rescue the imperial family from certain death. Also available from JR Books: The Last Wife of Henry VIII The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette Carolly Erickson holds a Ph.D. in medieval history from Colombia University and was a college professor before becoming a writer. She has written many acclaimed historical biographies, including The First Elizabeth, Her Little Majesty, and Alexandra.