In 1877, Erast Fandorin finds himself at the Bulgarian front in a war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, where he assists a Russian woman who is risking her life for her fiancâe, who has been falsely accused of espionage.
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“[An] elegantly spun yarn . . . Akunin’s wonderful novels are always intricately webbed and plotted.”–The Providence JournalIt is 1877, and war has broken out between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. In the treacherous atmosphere of a Russian field army, former diplomat and detective extraordinaire Erast Fandorin stumbles upon his most confounding case. Its difficulties are only compounded by the presence of Varya Suvorova, a deadly serious (and seriously beautiful) woman with revolutionary ideals who has disguised herself as a boy in order to reunite with her respected comrade and fiancé. Even after Fandorin saves her life, Varya can hardly bear to thank such a “lackey of the throne” for his efforts. When Varya’s fiancé is accused of espionage and faces execution, however, she must turn to Fandorin to find the real culprit . . . a mission that forces her to reckon with his courage, deductive mind, and piercing gaze.
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