Rasputin and the Empress

Is a highly fictionalized account of the downfall of the Romanov empire in Russia and the role of Grigory Rasputin in that downfall. Adolescent Alexei, the youngest offspring and only son of the Czar and Czarina, Nicholai and Alexandra, has just been diagnosed with hemophilia, with conventional medical practitioners not being able to do anything to prolong his life or help his suffering. Princess Natasha, a lady in waiting, is able to convince the Czarina to allow Rasputin, a purported Man of God albeit not a man of the cloth, to be the conduit for God to assist with Alexei's medical issues. Through proverbial "smoke and mirrors", Rasputin, a charlatan, is able to fool the Czarina and those around her that Alexei is on the mend - ostensibly that Alexei has been cured - in Rasputin's end goal of taking control of the empire. With that "in" into the upper echelons of the empire, Rasputin, by those continued smoke and mirrors and through threats and blackmail, is able to continue to wield his control with the Romanovs and thus the empire. The one person who does not trust Rasputin is Prince Paul Chegodieff, an officer of the Czar's, and Natasha's fiance. Paul has to try and convince those that matter of how dangerous Rasputin is, even at the risk of his own life. In the process, Alexei continues to be used as a pawn by Rasputin.