Winner of the 2006 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize.

In the outer reaches of Siberia 1919, a country recently torn apart by civil war, lives a small Christian sect and its enigmatic leader, Balashov. Stationed in their midst is a company of Czech soldiers, on the losing side of the recent conflict and desperate to get home.

Into this isolated community trudges Samarin, an escapee from Russia's northernmost prison. His arrival intrigues many of the locals, including Anna Petrovna, a beautiful young war widow. But when the local shaman is found dead, suspicion and terror engulf the little town.

'James Meek's magnificent and beautifully written book manages to be both simple and profound, with a faultless balance between cruelty and humanity. Such a truly Russian novel, with its huge horizons, is an exceptional event in English literature.' Antony Beevor