On her deathbed, Kate Gavrill's mother finally tells her the truth: she is a descendant of Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia. Kate is the final heir to a family fortune, but nothing is simple in the tragic history of the Romanov clan. In order to claim the royal riches, Kate must find a long-missing alexandrite gem-the Romanov Stone-which is no easy task. Simon Blake, a respected New York gemologist, will be her companion as they travel overseas in search of the legendary jewel. They will not be fighting historians or archaeologists, however. Instead, they must go up against jewel thieves, members of a blood-thirsty crime syndicate, and a sinister cleric trained in mind control. Simon wants to find the stone as much as Kate does, but his romantic feelings for her make him more protective than proactive. He wants no harm to come to Kate, whereas she is fiercely driven by the need to make sense of her family history. She knows she deserves the fortune. Kate will find the alexandrite and restore honor to the Romanov line-if it's the last thing she does.