The story focuses on Valentina Ivanova, daughter to the finance minister to Tsar Nicholas II. An aristocrat, she is destined to marry a count from a moneyed family determined by her parents. When she falls in love with a penniless Danish engineer named Jens Friis she is torn whether to marry according to her parents wishes or follow her heart. Ss she spends time with Jens, she realizes that he is the love of her life.
Their romance is set in St. Petersburg 1910 against a background of revolution in her beloved country, Russia. Jens is designs and building a sanitary sewer system for the city. She wants to become a nurse to the horror of her parents.
As the working class and poor fight starvation, disease and injury, people like Valentina live in wealth and luxury. When the Revolutionaries begin killing government officials she fears for her father's life. Arkin, the family's chauffeur, is a dedicated Revolutionary who spearheads much of the chaos about the city. He genuinely likes her, her mother, Elizaveta, and her sister, Katya, but despises the opulence in which they live. He orchestrates an attack on her father that only injures and cripples the young Katya. The reader must not miss Liev, the young peasant who lives in the stable and takes care of the horses and carriages. He hates the Revolutionists who murdered his father, saves Valentina and always seems to be there when she needs help.
This story brings the reader in the lives of Russians, both rich and poor, of the era. The reader sympathizes with Arkin as he struggles to meld his beliefs with his feelings for the family.
Wonderful atmosphere. Engaging story. Strong fascinating characters. All woven together for an outstanding read. Yes, I liked it very much.
