In this 1876 'Mission Impossible' tale of intrigue set in Russia, a traitor has inspired the fierce Feofar Khan to invade Siberia and foment a rebellion. A sinister plot to assassinate the Czar’s brother, the Grand Duke, is discovered but all telegraph lines have been cut. Only one of the Czar’s courier’s is qualified to handle the dangerous and arduous mission to warn the Siberian Governor General of the impending invasion, Michael Strogoff.
'Sire, a fresh dispatch.' 'Whence?' 'From Tomsk?' 'Is the wire cut beyond that city?' 'Yes, sire, since yesterday.' 'Telegraph hourly to Tomsk, General, and keep me informed of all that occurs.' 'Sire, it shall be done,' answered General Kissoff. These words were exchanged about two hours after midnight, at the moment when the fete given at the New Palace was at the height of its splendor. During the whole evening the bands of the Preobra–jensky and Paulowsky regiments had played without cessation polkas, mazurkas, schottisches, and waltzes from among the choicest of their repertoires. Innumerable couples of dancers whirled through the magnificent saloons of the palace, which stood at a few paces only from the 'old house of stones'—in former days the scene of so many terrible dramas, the echoes of whose walls were this night awakened by the gay strains of the musicians.
