Zar Boaz is preparing for the imminent arrival of the Galinsean fleet and it seems inevitable that the realm will be plunged into war. His only hope is to use Lazar as a bargaining chip but despite the necessity for him to be in the city for the negotiations, the Spur is determined to travel back to the desert to rescue the abducted Zaradine Ana and bring her home. However, finding Ana will not be a simple task. She is being held by the despotic Arafanz and his fanatical followers and as it slowly becomes clear what the presumed madman plans for Percheron, Ana does not know if she is to survive ...and if she is, to what end?
Following his country's victory over Nazi Germany, Joseph Stalin was widely hailed as a great wartime leader and international statesman. Unchallenged on the domestic front, he headed one of the most powerful nations in the world. Yet, in the period from the end of World War II until his death, Stalin remained a man possessed by his fears. In order to reinforce his despotic rule in the face of old age and uncertain health, he habitually humiliated and terrorized members of his inner circle.
