While attending a conference in Moscow, the historian Christopher "Fluke" Kelso is met by an old man named Papu Rapava, who claims to have been present at the death of Joseph Stalin.

At each station, ever-larger crowds gather to witness the apparent resurrection of the famous dictator, and it appears that he might be able simply to stride through the doors of the Kremlin and assume command.

Screenwriters Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais purchased the rights and hoped to make a film version but were unable to find sufficient backing.

In the event, they wrote a three-part television version starring Daniel Craig, Yekaterina Rednikova, Gabriel Macht, and Avtandil Makharadze as Joseph Stalin.

The director was Jon Jones, and the adaptation was produced by Christopher Hall for the BBC's own in-house drama department, in collaboration with the independent production company Power and Baltic Film Services.