The book opens in 1946: following the devastation wrought upon the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War, Yefgenii Yeremin has been left without parents or prospects. Now the theme is taken up by an author somewhat closer to home, Jed Mercurio, writer of the TV dramas Cardiac Arrest and Invasion: Earth. The most prominent recurring story to emerge from behind this fog of deception is "the Soviets got there first," an idea which inspired the recent Russian "documentary-drama" film Pervye na Lune ( First on the Moon, 2005). Soviet cosmonauts remained anonymous until they returned safely to Earth and any accidents along the way (even if they resulted in several hundred deaths) could be discreetly erased from history. The secrecy which surrounded it, in comparison to the blaze of publicity which accompanied the Mercury and Apollo projects, does much to encourage such speculation. The Soviet space programme has always provided fertile ground for urban myths, conspiracy theories, and tall tales.
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