The year is 1605. Ivan the Terrible, the first tsar of Russia, is dead. Even worse, all of his sons are also either dead or presumed missing. With no one left to take the throne, it seems the fate of the Russian monarchy is sealed. Until, in the people's greatest time of need, Ivan's long-lost son Dmitry Ivanovich marches triumphantly back into the city of Moscow. He is happily embraced by his weeping mother, takes the love of his life as his bride, and is crowned the rightful tsar of Russia. The nation is saved.

There's only one problem. The real Dmitry Ivanovich . . . had died sixteen years prior.