This is an adventure novel that takes place in Russia. The protagonist is Jehan de Marle, a French Marquis who had to escape his home country because of an ill-fated duel in which he killed a man. He joins a goldsmith going to Moscow as his apprentice.

He then gets involved in the feud between different factions trying to get into power and falls in love with princess Daria. The rest is a swashbuckling adventure novel which does not bring much to the genre.

The author is well-known for her historical romance novels and has more than 30 such books published in her lifetime.