Part historical adventure, part vampire thriller—the fourth dark and chilling chapter in the acclaimed Danilov Quintet, a masterpiece of alternative Russian historyTurkmenistan 1881: Beneath the citadel of Geok Tepe sits a prisoner. He hasn't moved from his chair for two years, hasn’t felt the sun on his face in more than 50, but he is thankful for that. The city is besieged by Russian troops and soon falls. But one Russian officer has his own reason to be here. Colonel Otrepyev marches into the underground jail, but for the prisoner it does not mean freedom, simply a new jailer; an old friend, now an enemy. They return to Russia to meet an older enemy still. In Saint Petersburg, the great vampire Zmyeevich waits as he has always waited.
