In a faraway kingdom, in a long-ago land... Rosie lived peacefully in Moscow and her mother told her fairy tales. Magical stories that could have been the folklore of their people, or her mother's own imaginings-Rosie was never sure. But one summer night, all of that came abruptly to an end when her father and sister were gunned down. Now, a decade later and studying at Oxford University, Rosie has a fiancé who knows nothing of her former life. When her reclusive mother dies and leaves behind a notebook full of eerie handwritten tales, Rosie returns to Russia and uncovers a devastating family history that spans the 1917 Revolution, the siege of Leningrad, Stalin's purges, and beyond. At the heart of this stands a young noblewoman, Tonya, as pretty as a porcelain doll, and idealistic, handsome Valentin, who dreams of a better Russia. Both of their actions will set off a sweeping story that reverberates across the century...