The cult keeps secrets. But its leaders keep score.

In 1940, Pyotr Semyonov-Volga sets out for revenge. He’s survived the cynomancy once, but the scars never faded. When he reenters the cult’s inner sanctum under the guise of duty, he discovers a world ruled not by ritual but by rumor: Gossip flows faster than blood, secrets are currency, and betrayal is a rite of passage.

His new role places him under the gaze of the disciples, and directly in the crosshairs of Andrey Mikhailov, the cult’s de facto ruler with ghosts of his own. As Pyotr’s path collides with Mikhailov’s, he must escape before their deranged leader can cull him, too.

But this game was rigged long before Pyotr arrived. In the shadow of a decades-old purge, truth festers, loyalties rot, and the sins of 1910 refuse to stay buried.

Similar Works and Inspirations: The Godfather II, Moby Dick, Blood Meridian