Out of the Shadows

As Catherine the Great rides triumphantly into St. Petersburg to seize the Russian throne, she is brimming with ideas. Yet in these early years of her reign, she must face constant challenges: a corrupt and inept government, a disastrous economy, attempted coups, conflicts with the church, mysterious murders, court intrigues, a sick heir, an epidemic, war, and resistance to her reforms and new laws.

Meanwhile, her confidant and lady-in-waiting Maria Blukova continues to harbor a dark secret—and confront a life-changing crisis. Even after living in the dazzling Russian imperial court for nearly two decades, she sometimes yearns to return to the future she left so unwillingly on the brink of the 21st century. Will she ever find the portal back? And if she does, how could she abandon her beloved husband and friends in the 18th century?

This stand-alone novel picks up where In the Shadows with Catherine the Great (recounting the early decades of Catherine II’s and Maria’s lives) leaves off and does not require you to read Book One first.