A Riddle for a Noble Lady

Young Lydia Talyanova is an orphan. Once she was thought to be French and bore another name, but her parents were murdered under the most mysterious circumstances. An elderly Russian gentleman took the girl under his protection and took her to faraway Russia, where he arranged for her admission to the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens. Even after nine years, having grown into an adult, Lydia still couldn’t figure out who he was and why he takes such a vivid interest in her fate. After all, mysteries are what Lydia loves more than anything...

As it usually happens, the veil of secrecy lifts by accident—during the holidays at an old noble estate, where Lydia’s friend is going to visit her sick father.