Someday Tmutarakan will be part of Rus. But for now, Samkerzts-Tamatarha, seized by the Russian prince Oleg of Kiev, cannot be held. A few hundred Rus and Normans can’t stand against armies in the thousands. The only question is who will capture it first—Byzantines or Khazars. The former prince-warrior Sergei, now Prince’s squire Vartislav, understands this very well. And he keeps searching for the answer: why did Oleg need Samkerzts? But first Sergei must solve a simpler task: how will they all survive the impending battle of titans?