When Defending the Homeland Means Defending Your Heart. Siberia, 1581. When Umey, an outcast woman of Samoyed and Russian blood, stumbles on a ravaged village, she unwittingly uncovers a plot that threatens to devastate her beloved forests and the Siberian tribes who live there. It's furs-soft gold-the invading Cossacks crave, and the greediest of them is Yermak, the man who saved her life and raised her. As the Cossacks, armed with fearsome muskets, plunge deeper into Siberia, Umey is forced to make a choice: accept Yermak's protection, or use her woodland skills to aid the Siberians in their desperate resistance. Umey and Alexey, a Russian soldier who has seen too much war, are soon enmeshed in an unfolding crucible of destruction where they must rely on their courage and new found love if they are to survive.