Overall plot: prologue:
Rasputin family - wants to rule the world under a fundamentalist regime, sends Grigori to insinuate himself into
a position of influence. Soon before his plot to kill Nicholas II while he is at the front comes to fruition,
he has a change of heart and attempts to warn the Tsaritsa. He knows that he must do this as nonchalantly
as possible so as to not alert his family so he consents to meet Felix Yusupov at his palace. Unbeknowsnt to him,
his older brother Dmitri is disguised as a servant. While serving Grigori wine, Dmitri makes eye contact and
reads his younger brother’s mind. Grigori, who has his own powers, senses that something is amiss and attempts
to leave. On his way out, however, Yusupov and his compatriates shoot him in the stomach upon Dmitri’s orders
and allow Dmitri to look into his eyes. Instead of healing himself, Grigori focuses his energy on blocking the
memories of his secret teenage son from Dmitri’s mind. A passing englishman walks in on the scene with his
gun drawn. Feeling that his more powerful brother is about to break into his memory, Grigori uses his last bit
of strength to twitch the englishman’s finger as his pistol is aimed at his head. Dmitri makes the englishman
come to him and stabs him with a dagger.
Meanwhile, Isaac, Grigori’s son with mistress Larissa Fedorova escapes Dmitri’s henchmen and crosses into Poland, where he
works quietly as the owner of a print shop. Isaac knows of the family history and supernatural powers from Grigori but falls in
love with Yekaterina Pavlova, a girl from the village. Afraid of endangering her, Isaac keeps silent and watches in relief
as the communists unknowingly thwart Dmitri from the throne, forcing him and his clan into hiding. In 1950, after learning
of his wife’s pregnancy, Isaac makes a printing press which will print the history of the Rasputin clan while it is still
fresh in his mind and plans to mask it with his other working presses. However, a month after the birth of his son, Mariusz,
Isaac hears that Yekaterina was killed by a boy with a mental disability. Isaac recognises the handiwork of Dmitri, who
could break through the defenses of a mind which is not in full health and control it, and realising that he and his infant
son are in danger, Isaac buries the printing press in a vault, runs to a port and stows away on the nearest ship.
The ship goes to America and upon arriving at Ellis Island, Isaac gives his name as “Putchinski,” the first name he could think
of. He resolves to never tell his son anything which could put him in danger and raises him as a normal American boy. Mariusz
meets Amy Katz, the daughter of wealthy but kindly Jewish parents, and in 1990, they give birth to Mike.
Story:
Mike is about to enter his senior year at Smithton High School in Smithton, IN. As well as being a fairly good student, he
is also a goalkeeper for the Smithton Tigers, the local hockey team. His best friend and team mate, star center Justin
Cashman, an ironically poor but stoic, funny, and handsome boy, helps him in various acts of mischief that Mike thinks up. At
school, the pair meets Olli Impinen, a nerdy genius boy from Finland. The three slog through the first semester of high school.
Mike, who his friends call “lucky” because he manages to pull off nearly-impossible feats, spends the year wooing Alexandra
Mann, a pretty girl who navigates through the school’s warring social groups with incredible grace. However, Mike’s luck
had never extended to girls, a point which his friends remind him of constantly, and he therefore refrains from embarrasing
himself and contents himself with a platonic friendship. To keep his mind off of the girl, Mike focuses his energy on taking
care of Ben, the family’s comical and mischevious adopted Husky/Rott mix.
During Christmas break, the political scene in Russia begins to stil as President Vladimir Putin consolidates his power over
the nation. Meanwhile, Mike’s parents are involved in a car crash which leaves Amy close to death. Crying over his wife’s
almost lifeless body, Mariusz is shocked to see his touch seal his wife’s wounds. An ambulance picks them up but instead of
taking them to the hospital, it goes to the nearest airport and transfers the pair into a private jet bound for Russia. News
of the crash reaches Isaac, who to his grandson appears to be a kind but grumpy old man, and Isaac warns Mike and his friends
to leave and tells them cryptically to go to Pokrovskoye for answers. They take off in Mike’s old car and in the rear view
mirror see Isaac as he is beset by men in army fatigues. The old man holds his own surprisingly well but as the car turns the
corner, Olli sees him taken down by a tall, heavyset man with a large beard.
They decide to hide in an abandoned building in the middle of the town while they plan their next move. While they contemplate
their choices, they are alarmed by a stranger entering the room and almost kill them before the face appears to be that of
Alexandra, who had heard about the car crash and saw the trio as they were driving. As they desperately try to get rid of her,
Mike hears a quiet whisper “I found him.” His other friends had not heard a thing but Mike convinces them to leave, and they
barely sneak out before a group of men storms the building with guns blazing. Terrified, the group flees.
Not knowing what is going on but determined to get to the bottom of it, the group follow the only lead they have: Pokrovskoye.
Together, they go on a journey which takes them through cities such as Indianapolis, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Lahti, to the
old print shop in Poland, and eventually the ancestral home of the Rasputin clan.
