Links of a Broken Chain

The second Russo-Turkish war continues, and Austria is Russia’s ally. Its emperor, Joseph II, is a longtime friend and like-minded person of Catherine the Great. By order of the empress, the most illustrious Prince Potemkin-Tavridsky sends his beloved, an experienced intelligence agent, Anastasia Arzhanova, to the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. She goes under a diplomatic “cover” and must win the emperor’s trust—however, Joseph II dies.

After his death, Austria breaks its allied obligations to Russia and concludes a separate peace with Turkey. A copy of this international convention, with secret clauses, ends up in Arzhanova’s hands...

The novel is the fifth book in a series about the adventures of the empress’s secret agent, Anastasia Arzhanova, a noblewoman from Kursk.