This work examines Alexander II's life and reign, and the lives of his children, including his successor Tsar Alexander III, whose determination to purge the empire of all terrorism and protect the autocracy brought more violence in its wake; and his grandson, Tsar Nicholas II, whose vacillation between autocracy and liberalism and disastrous foreign ventures led to the violent dissolution of the monarchy. It also recounts the lives of the Tsar's children from his controversial second marriage - to his mistress, Catherine Dolgorouky - of whom the youngest, Catherine, lived in England for several years and died in 1959. The collapse of the dynasty, the Russian revolution and execution of several members of the family are thus seen through the eyes of the surviving sons and daughters of the Tsar Liberator.