On July 17, 1918, Vladimir Lenin ordered Bolshevik secret police to murder the entire imperial family of Russia, which included Anastasia Romanov. Two years later, a young woman, her body horribly scarred, is rescued from a canal in Berlin, Germany. She claims that she is Anastasia, but most do not believe it. Her detractors take to calling her Anna Anderson, but rumors have already started circulating throughout Europe, and Anastasia, or Anna--whoever she is--finds herself with new friends and deadly enemies.