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On 12th June 1812- Napoleons Grande Armee forded the River Niemen and crossed the Rubicon - its invasion of Russia had begun. Charged with delaying the enemys inexorable march on Moscow- a group of Russian officers summon the help of the oprichniki- a band of mercenaries from the outermost fringes of Christian Europe. As rumours of a plague travelling west from the Black Sea reach the Russians- the Oprichniki - twelve in number - arrive. Preferring to work alone- and at night- they prove brutally- shockingly effective against the French. But one amongst the Russians- Captain Aleksei Ivanovich Danilov- is unnerved by the mercenaries ruthlessness...and as he comes to understand the true- horrific nature of these strangers- he wonders at the nightmare theyve unleashed in their midst......