With Stalin on the move to build a Russian empire that runs from the Arctic Circle to the Indian Ocean, Jake and Sally Burnes are dispatched to an exotic new location outside the sphere of traditional American interests: Istanbul. With the Eastern Mediterranean in turmoil, Jake is to oversee a massive aid program. But as they travel on the Orient Express, a shocking discovery makes clear that a radically different kind of intervention is required. At the same time, spiritual growth comes from an unexpected new direction. Amidst murky Byzantine alleys, magnificent domes and minarets, they must find a way to thwart the grand designs of Russian power.