Guy Lake was kidnapped by a man using the name Rasputin.  However, when the police SWAT team rescues him Guy doesn’t want to leave and he seems crazy to anyone who talks to him.  Guy doesn’t care – he is just waiting until Rasputin comes to get him and they return to their life together.

The man calling himself Rasputin believes that he is the same man that had a relationship with the Tsarina Catherine the Great and cured her son.  But is he the same Rasputin or just a deranged man?

Asmael is Rasputin’s guardian and is arrested along with Rasputin when the SWAT team rescues Guy.  Does he share Rasputin’s delusion or is what they believe real?

The Gates of Hell is an impressive suspense book, but not really a romance.  The format that Willa Okati used felt very unique as the narration is in the format of interviews of the main characters rather than the actual interactions between them.  The premise of the book is very intriguing, but so many issues are left unresolved at the end that I felt cheated because there is no uniting thread that explained all the disjointed actions of the characters.  Also, the multitude of secondary characters adds to the confusion, rather than adding depth to the action.  Over all, The Gates of Hell is a technically impressive book; it is not, however, really a romance.