"Love! Surely one of the most destructive forces in the universe. There's nothing a man — or woman — won't do for true love."

1812. The Vishenkov household, along with the rest of Moscow, faces the advance of Napoleon Bonaparte. At its heart is the radiant Dusha, a source of strength and inspiration — and more besides — for them all. Captain Victor Padorin, heroic Hussar and family friend, meanwhile, acts like a man possessed — by the Devil.

2024. Fitz is under interrogation regarding a burglary and fire at the Kremlin. The Doctor has disappeared in the flames. Colonel Bugayev is investigating a spate of antique thefts, centred in Moscow, on top of which he now has a time-travel mystery to unravel.

5000. Lord General Razum Kinzhal is preparing to set in motion the closing stages of a world war. More than the enemy, his fellow generals of the Icelandic Alliance fear what such a man might do in peacetime. What can possibly bridge these disparate events in time? Love will find a way. But the Doctor must find a better alternative. Before love sets the world on fire.