His Serene Highness Prince Nicholas Tchkotoua (1909-1984) was a Georgian writer and a prominent member of the Order of Malta.

One of his children was Zourab Tchkotoua (1937-2019), a close friend and confidant of Gunter Sachs for many decades.

[4] In the novel, set in Tbilisi, Lausanne and Paris before the First World War, Georgian Prince Shota's love for his Taya, a Russian princess, remains faithful even when outside forces manipulate their emotions, prise them apart and Shota ends up betrothed to an American.

One of their sons - the car racing driver Zourab (1937-2019) - was buried in the family grave as well.

In 1988 his family smuggled it back to the cemetery in Vera, Tbilisi, where it lies to this day.