So begins a fraught peace mission that takes Ruslan deep into the conflict zone. But how far can he trust his Communist ally? What is his real agenda?

And when everything starts to fall apart, the extremists who want a war move in for the kill.

This second Ruslan Shanidza novel follows on from "The Price of Dreams" but can be enjoyed as a stand-alone. It is a political thriller rooted in time and place that reads like historical fiction.

"Few novels start as savagely and alarmingly as this...The place is the northern Caucasus; the time the murderous period of chaos left by the collapse of the Soviet Union...Events in 'Ksordia-Akhtaria' are not only a guide to the recent past but – unhappily – to the bloodshed and intrigue of the likely future."
Neal Ascherson, author of Black Sea and The Polish August.

"...melds themes of conflict, loss, and love in this politically charged thriller that arrests the reader's attention from the first page...solid characters...the most endearing and relatable thing about them is their humanity...an exhilarating read"
OnlineBookClub.org Official Review

"An energetic continuation of the Ruslan Shanidza story from The Price of Dreams. Political intrigue, personal vendettas, believable characters, interesting plot twists."
EP Goodreads Reviewer