Anna — Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

As Paris recoils from the turbulent political events of 1803, young English governess Anne Peters is penniless, homeless . . . and alone.

But while France prepares for war she seizes the chance of escape -- and the beginning of a new life in the service of the dashing Count Nikolai Kirov. It means a new home -- in the glittering Russian city of St Petersburg. And it means a new identity -- as Anna Petrovria.

Thrown headfirst into the flamboyant and demanding circle of her new employer and his family, Anna suddenly finds her life revolving around the city's splendour and the wild, untamed beauty of the Caucasus Mountains.

But as Napoleon gathers his army for the final attack on Imperialist Russia, beautiful English Anna must prepare for a battle of the heart -- her forbidden love for a man and a country she may never call her own...