In the golden age of Catherine the Great’s reign, big things were happening. Prince Potemkin, the Empress’s favorite, headed the Department of Foreign Relations and carried out an energetic program to strengthen the southern borders of the Russian Empire. One of the strategic tasks was the annexation of the Crimean Khanate, to establish Russia on the Black Sea. As early as 1765, Catherine issued an order to create a far-reaching network of secret agents in the Northern Black Sea region and in Crimea. For the purpose of gathering information and preparing for peace negotiations, a Russian embassy is sent to Bakhchisarai—into which Potemkin includes a young woman: the widow of an officer who died in the war Arzhanov, with a secret mission to win over Khan Shahin-Girey…