She was in Russia at the start of the war to help rescue her grandparents, but ends up fighting on the side of the partisans when her grandparents are slaughtered by the Germans. On the German side, there is Heinz Thorvald, the Hare's counterpart. He's the best sniper the German army has to offer and is known as the Headmaster in deference to a sniper school he runs in Berlin. Nikki Mond is the young corporal assigned to work with Thorvald as his spotter. Duel opens When Zaitsev is ordered to start his own sniper school, he and his trainees, including Tania, become the scourge of the German army, picking off soldiers from hideouts hundreds of meters from their victims.
Death is sudden and unexpected, making life behind the German lines one of unbearable tension.
The Germans, realizing that troop morale is getting dangerously low, send Thorvald to Stalingrad with one order - find the Hare and kill him. Of course, Zaitsev, who has become a hero for the Russians, learns of the Headmaster's mission and the duel is on. Robbins has done his homework, and the result is a startlingly real look at an important historic event brought even more to life by the inclusion of ordinary characters who perform extraordinary feats. The duel between the two super snipers is the focal point, though, and Robbins provides a taut lesson in their deadly art. Watching and waiting, always waiting for the right moment to shoot, the two men feint and counterfeint across the squalid blocks and parks of the devastated city.