"Irina Davydovna, survivor of the ice ship Chelyuskin, which sank in the Arctic circle, is back in her beloved home city of Leningrad. She thinks her troubles are over. But this is Leningrad in 1933. As Stalin begins to turn against the city, and his old favourite Sergei Kirov, Irina finds herself caught up in forces beyond anyone's control." "Loyalties, belief, love and family ties: all are about to be tested to the limit in one of the most devastating moments of human history." "There is Boris Aleksandrovich, who, having persuaded Irina Davydovna to go on the ice ship, feels honour bound to find her a new position within his family circle. Boris thinks he can negotiate between idealism and politics, yet his daughter, Natasha, a carefree girl, will be almost crushed by his compromises. Meanwhile, his oldest friend, Anton Antonovich, in an uncharacteristic moment, rescues a young orphan he finds on a Moscow train, only to discover that her ferocity for life will eventually threaten his own." "And watching all this unfold is Irina: wise, ironic, marvellous Irina, who comes to understand how love for another may, in the end, be more powerful and more profound than blind loyalty to an idea."--BOOK JACKET.