Darya Sheremeteva knows her duty. Everywhere the young Russian noblewoman turns, someone in her circle of family and friends reminds her that she exists to serve a single purpose: to marry a powerful man selected by her male relatives and bear children, preferably sons, to continue his line.But after years in isolation nursing her elderly father, Darya questions whether marriage and motherhood constitute the best, never mind the only, future for a woman of twenty-five. Should she not instead take monastic vows and surrender her will to the soaring ritual of the Orthodox Church?When a cousin lays claim to her father's estate, Darya's decision acquires a new urgency. Because her cousin will stop at nothing to advance his career, and his most valuable asset is Darya herself.