It’s 1920 and in Russia, public opposition to Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky’s communist government is spreading. Oppression, censorship and – above all – famine is stirring up discontent. Even those who once stood ready to fight to bring the communists to power now want them gone. But even as the duo face down the latest threats to their rule, their alliance is starting to fray. Lenin and the rest of the party are growing frustrated with Trotsky’s unwillingness to tow the party line. And that’s going to give Joseph Stalin the chance he needs to prise the two men apart and clear the path for his own rise to power.