Decades after defying her aristocratic family to join the Russian revolution, Svetlana Petrova opens her home to her eighteen-year-old granddaughter, Mila, who falls under the spell of the resistance when their remote village is overrun by Nazi invaders.
Captured by the Gestapo, Maria is imprisoned in Auschwitz while her family is sent to their deaths. Realizing her ability to play chess, the sadistic camp deputy, Fritzsch, intends to use her as a chess opponent to entertain the camp guards. Literally playing for her life through four grueling years, Maria intends to orchestrate Fritzsch's downfall. Maria, vowing to avenge the murder of her family, challenges her former nemesis to one final game, certain to end in life or death, in failure or justice. Print run 30,000