Grand Duchess Olga Romanov comes of age amid a shifting tide for the great dynasties of Europe. But even as unrest simmers in the capital, Olga is content to live within the confines of the sheltered life her parents have built for her and her three sisters: hiding from the world on account of their mothers ill health, their brother Alexeis secret affliction, and rising controversy over Father Grigori Rasputin, the priest on whom the tsarina has come to rely. Olgas only escape from the seclusion of Alexander Palace comes from the grand tea parties her aunt hosts amid the shadow court of Saint Petersburg -- a world of opulent ballrooms, scandalous flirtation, and whispered conversation.
