In the days before the 1917 rebellion, Olga, Tatiana and Alexei Romanov become ill with measles. On the night of March 12, Duma leader Rodzianko calls and urges Alexandra and the children to leave the palace at Tsarkoe Selo, but the empress insists the children are too sick to be moved, plus she expects Nicholas to arrive soon. On March 13, a mob arrives, looting Tsarkoe Selo and claiming they’ve come for “‘that German woman’” and for Alexei (171). However, 1,500 members of the marine Garde Equipage have also arrived that morning to protect the royals; they are the only soldiers still loyal to the tsar. That night, Anastasia shows the first signs of measles as the sounds of gunfire draw closer to the palace.

Rumors spread of a huge force guarding the tsar’s family, and the mob retreats. However, the tsar does not arrive; his train has been stopped, and all of Alexandra’s telegrams go unanswered. On March 15, the Garde Equipage deserts the royals, many servants “vanish” (173), and the electricity, water, telegraph, and telephone are shut off.

Meanwhile Nicholas, whose train has been delayed for days because of revolutionary activity, at last “grasp[s]” the true severity of the situation (173).