[1] In November 1916 the German high command, after the heavy defeats suffered by its ally the Austro-Hungarian Empire, concluded that a military victory over Russia is impossible.
Consequently, the Germans provoke a revolution in Russia by generously financing Lenin and his party, because they foresee an early defeat in the war.
The chief of German intelligence rejects Sepp's plan, and offers his own — the assassination of Nicholas II, expecting that the emperor's death would cause confusion and a struggle for power that would drive Russia out of the war.
Romanov discovers that the retinue of Nicholas includes a traitor who informs German intelligence of all the movements of the royal train.
Aleksei discerns a possible assassination attempt and begins to act, seeking to prevent the murder of the Tsar....now read on