A gripping novel of historical espionage, about an eleventh-hour attempt by members of the German elite to unseat Adolf Hitler, and its endlessly complex consequences.
In late 1937, the young lieutenant Oskar Langweil is recruited to this cause while attending a party at the lavish home of a baroness. A high-ranking officer in Germany's counterintelligence agency brings Oskar into the fold because of their mutual involvement in a patriotic youth league, and soon dispatches him to Washington, D.C., on a perilous mission. Despite his best efforts, Oskar is compromised, and must immediately find a way to sneak back into Germany unnoticed. A childhood friend introduces him to Lena, a Socialist and fellow expat, and they hatch a plan to have Oskar pose as her husband as they cross the Atlantic on a cruise ship filled with Nazis and fellow travelers. But bad luck follows them at every turn, and they find themselves messily entangled with the son of a U.S. Senator, a White Russian princess, a disgraced journalist, an aging brigadier, and a gay SS officer as the novel races toward an explosive conclusion.
A gripping novel of historical espionage, about an eleventh-hour attempt by members of the German elite to unseat Adolf Hitler, and its endlessly complex consequences.
In late 1937, the young lieutenant Oskar Langweil is recruited to this cause while attending a party at the lavish home of a baroness. A high-ranking officer in Germany's counterintelligence agency brings Oskar into the fold because of their mutual involvement in a patriotic youth league, and soon dispatches him to Washington, D.C., on a perilous mission. Despite his best efforts, Oskar is compromised, and must immediately find a way to sneak back into Germany unnoticed. A childhood friend introduces him to Lena, a Socialist and fellow expat, and they hatch a plan to have Oskar pose as her husband as they cross the Atlantic on a cruise ship filled with Nazis and fellow travelers. But bad luck follows them at every turn, and they find themselves messily entangled with the son of a U.S. Senator, a White Russian princess, a disgraced journalist, an aging brigadier, and a gay SS officer as the novel races toward an explosive conclusion.
RICHARD GRANT was born in Norfolk in 1952, attended the University of Virginia, and served in the U.S. Coast Guard. He lives in Rockport, Maine, where he has been a contributing editor of Down East magazine, chaired the literature panel of the Maine Arts Commission, and won a New England Journalism Award for his column in the Camden Herald.
"An intelligent, sharply focused, high-stakes drama . . . a
transatlantic, cross-country cat-and-mouse chase [that] hastens
toward a conclusion that manages to excite but at the same time
examine, most notably, questions of trust, loyalty and
patriotism."--Malcolm Forbest, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune "An
absorbing tale of espionage wrapped in enough cloak-und--dagger
episodes to make anyone's Kopf spin. Intrigue and menace mixed here
with delicious dollops of humor make a great read for those
interested in that bygone era. Absolutely wunderbar!"--Edward B.
Cone, Library Journal (starred review) "An understated,
entertaining [and] exceptional period thriller focused on homegrown
opposition to Hitler. . . . Grant builds tension slowly, then
ratchets it up with fine pacing. The main characters are
well-drawn, but the minor ones are also memorable, from a White
Russian princess in an ancien régime Berlin salon to a cabaret
mentalist."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Intricate . . . a
clever story of suspense and treachery as growing resistance to
Hitler and the Nazis force desperate opponents to act. . . .
Pursuits, shoot-outs, surprising plot twists, and an exciting
showdown at an alpine mountain lodge complete this remarkably tense
and well-crafted thriller."--Publishers Weekly
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