Jack Beilis once lived the American dream: custom suits, new cars, and the best clubs. But by 1931, he has sunk so low he cannot feed himself or his ailing father. Now he barely has time to wipe the blood from his hands before he finds himself on a ship from New York to Moscow, running from a crime he never intended.
Desperate for an escape route, Jack wants to believe stories of a worker’s paradise in the Soviet Union. Maybe the distance between Ellis Island and Red Square will let him leave poverty—and his pursuers—far behind. Jack accepts an opportunity at the Gorky Ford Factory and embarks on a new life.
What he finds, though, is a surveillance society, empty store shelves, and a dangerous network of black markets. There seems to be no way out, until Jack meets Dr. Natasha Lobanova. Could this Russian beauty be his deliverance? When Natasha’s own dark history surfaces, Jack’s fate is threatened. With betrayals and secrets everywhere, Jack struggles to trust anyone or anything…even his own heart.
Can really relate to this masterpiece My grandparents were born in the Russian Empire circa 1890 and emigrated to the US in 1912 before the revolution. During the 1920s they received Pravda and were deceived into believing the propaganda about a much better life in the Soviet Union were everyone is equal. My mom, her sister and parents moved to the Soviet Union in the early 1930s and spent much time in Siberia. My grandfather worked in a coal mine and endured the harsh, brutal working conditions and oppression depicted very…
Incredible, moving story. I never write reviews but was so touched and drawn in by this beautiful, well written novel that I had I would recommend this book to all ages from 15 years and on. The story showed great insight into human nature. It felt as if I was right there, along with all the characters throughout their journeys. All of the people in this story were complete and whole. The book was too short and I wish the author would write a sequel to this moving drama. I want to hear more of their story.
Enthralling With most great novels I read, I almost hate to come to the end of the story. This novel, I felt that I couldn’t read it fast enough. Not because I wanted to get done with it, rather because I was in such suspense for the characters that I could hardly stand the anxiety of their situations. This author did an excellent job of making all the characters come to life and knowing that it has a strong basis in historical accuracy, only increased their vivid, and often life-threatening situations…