From the introduction: Welcome to 19th Century Central Asia, the region between the Caspian Sea and China; the lands that will become Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. The region is a melting pot of cultures: Russians from the North, Indians and Persians from the South, the Ottoman Empire to the West, and Asian influences to the East, not even mentioning the regional nomadic tribes or the many travelers and traders who pass through the region following the silk road.