Davinsky Labour Camp,1933: Sofia Marozova knows she has to escape. Only two things have sustained har through the bitter cold, aching hunger and hard labour:the prospect of one day walking free,and the stories told by her friend Anna, beguiling tales of a charmed upbringing in Petrograd - and of Anna's fervent love for a passionate revolutionary, Vasily.
So when Anna falls gravely ill, Sofia makes a promise to escape the camp and find Vasily: to chase the memory that has for so long spun hope in both their hearts.ut Sofia knows that times have changed. Russia , gripped by iron fist of Communism,is no longer of her friend's childhood. Her perilous search takes her from industrial factories to remote villages, where she discovers a web of secrecy and lies, but also bonds of courage and loyalty - and an overwhelming love that threatens her promise to Anna.