When Yuri Varienski, a Ukrainian emigre, died in Jersey, he left his daughter Lucy a bequest and a request. A gold filigree cross set with spinels, to be taken to the former dissident leader Volkov, now exiled in Geneva.

But Volkov, broken by imprisonment, is not the man he was, and there are other people with their own urgent reasons to possess the cross. For the legendary relic, St Vladimir's Cross has the power to unite or divide the volatile Soviet Union.

Innocently accepting her father's trust, Lucy could not know she would be sacrificing home, heart - and perhaps even her life...

This hardback book is in great condition and weighs 1 lb and 6 oz.