"The Winter Palace tells the epic story of Catherine the Great{u2019}s improbable rise to power{u2014}as seen through the ever-watchful eyes of an all-but-invisible servant close to the throne. Her name is Barbara{u2014}in Russian, Varvara. Nimble-witted and attentive, she{u2019}s allowed into the employ of the Empress Elizabeth, amid the glitter and cruelty of the world{u2019}s most eminent court. Under the tutelage of Count Bestuzhev, Chancellor and spymaster, Varvara will be educated in skills from lock picking to lovemaking, learning above all else to listen{u2014}and to wait for opportunity. That opportunity arrives in a slender young princess from Zerbst named Sophie, a playful teenager destined to become the indomitable Catherine the Great. Sophie{u2019}s destiny at court is to marry the Empress{u2019}s nephew, but she has other, loftier, more dangerous ambitions, and she proves to be more guileful than she first appears. What Sophie needs is an insider at court, a loyal pair of eyes and ears who knows the traps, the conspiracies, and the treacheries that surround her. Varvara will become Sophie{u2019}s confidante{u2014}and together the two young women will rise to the pinnacle of absolute power."--Publisher description.