Literary suspense in the tradition of Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle…A tale of murder, chess, and Psychoanalysis set in 1914 St. Petersburg.

"Zugzwang" is a chess term used to describe a position in which a player is reduced to a state of utter helplessness; obligated to make a move, but in a way that only worsens his position. The year is 1914, and St. Petersburg is playing host to an international chess tournament that has captivated the city's residents, including the famous psychoanalyst Otto Spethmann. When the editor of a liberal newspaper is assassinated, Spethmann is unwittingly caught up in the investigation. But he soon finds that the murder is part of a much larger conspiracy—one that reaches into the heart of the Russian political establishment.