Book excerpt: Created by acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, (Elizabeth; Golden Age; Four Feathers). After the sacking of a sacred Snake Temple at the hands of 68 British soldiers, each generation sees the birth of a 'Snake Woman,' the human vessel of a Goddess hungry for revenge. It is her destiny to hunt down and kill the reincarnated 68 in a single generation, or be destroyed by one of their number. Now, discover the women who came before Jessica Peterson as we journey through history to explore the Curse of the 68! This issue: In pre-Soviet Russia the spiritual advisor to the Tsar, Grigori Rasputin, has amassed immense political power. And though many factions plot his death, the 'Mad Monk' lives fearlessly, for he's intuited the great secret: He is one of the 68 and can only be killed by the Snake Woman. But this Snake Woman has a secret herself as one of the most famous and elusive characters in Russian history-Princess Anastasia...