As a half goddess possessing magic, Yaga is used to living on her own, her prior entanglements with mortals having led to heartbreak. But when her old friend Anastasia-now the wife of the tsar, and suffering from a mysterious illness-arrives in her forest desperate for her protection, Yaga realizes the fate of all of Russia is tied to Anastasia's. Yaga must step out of the shadows to protect the land she loves. Sixteenth-century Russia on the brink of chaos. Tsar Ivan-soon to become Ivan the Terrible-grows more volatile and tyrannical by the day, and Yaga believes the tsaritsa is being poisoned by an unknown enemy. But what Yaga cannot know is that Ivan is being manipulated by powers far older and more fearsome than anyone can imagine.