London, 1851: all the world flocks to the Great Exhibition, where beautiful, independent Fleur Hamilton encounters the enigmatic Count Sergei Kirov. When they meet again in St Petersburg, she knows that her fate is entangled with this vibrant man, whom she cannot understand, and yet who stirs her like no other. But England and Russia are on the brink of war; Kirov is on the brink of a marriage of convenience; and Fleur finds herself trapped in an agonising triangle of passion and betrayal. From the magical splendours of St Petersburg to the peril and squalor of besieged Sebastopol, Fleur follows her love; and through danger and suffering seeks to unravel the mystery of Kirov's tragic past, and find her destiny.