Summarized in reviews as ..". a dark, smoky story line ... peppered with intriguing twists and memorable characters ... journeys from betrayal to revenge, told through the lives of unique characters who will capture your imagination - and most certainly spark your opinions..." This is a good read An Adults ONLY story that contains some graphic and shocking violence coupled with intrigue and conspiracy. A portrayal of life and death in war-torn Russia, the depths of depravity a human can sink to, and the cruel mind games played by those in power. It is a look inside the Kremlin and the NKVD in the time of Stalin, and into life in a USSR the early "Russian revolutionaries" would never have imagined. This first novel from the author, Andrew J. Wilson, is an elemental, brutal, and powerful story that will keep you turning the pages as it causes you to ask questions of your own humanity. Set in a time when the whole of Russia is actively engaged in a battle for its very existence: the 'Non-Aggression Pact' between Stalin and Hitler has been broken by the German aggressor, and Mother Russia has been invaded. To the West, her land is soaked with the blood of her ill-prepared defending armies; to the East, the internal warring factions of days gone by still battle for supremacy; while across all villages and cities in between, the Russian peasants battle for simple survival. In the privacy of her family home, surrounded by the beauty of the Northern Hills, a young girl, Yarna, basks in the safety of her perfect world until one evening, with a knock at the door, the reality of war arrives. Not just the physical reality, but something far worse, the psychopathic reality of Leon Fishneski. The aftermath of this depraved encounter catapults Yarna into a world of revenge. Driven by pure hatred, she searches for a way to silence the screams in her head, to quell the urge to kill, and to try and find normality. Fate delivers that opportunity when she least expects it. But this young girl is only one cog in a constantly turning wheel of events made up of completely unrelated individuals - a kaleidoscope that ranges from Stalin, the Soviet military, and NKVD, on down to the lowliest soldier and prison guard. To complete the cast, add in a psychotic 'doctor' and the assortment of refugees in his 'hospital'. All their lives are about to become entwined as they are thrown together by chance, bad luck, and circumstance. Each is ignorant of the part the other plays until it is too late.