A new novel by Igor Efimov, author of «The Seventh Wife», «Archives of the Last Judgment», and «Trial and Deed», tells about the time of Prince Ivan III’s reign, and the final stage of Moscow’s confrontation with Great Novgorod. At the center is the young Czech Stefan Zlatobrad, who comes to Russia as a translator under a German trading house—but also with a secret assignment to provide detailed information about Russian principalities to his patron, the bishop of Lübeck. Turbulent events of political life, military clashes, court intrigues, and murders in the Kremlin surface in Stefan’s letters-reports and intertwine with the story of his love for a Russian woman. It seems to be the author’s best novel. The drama of one person unfolds against a broad historical canvas and forces the reader to follow the hero with unflagging suspense.