"Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?" -- Galatians 4:16
Who can you trust? That's the key issue captured by this book.
It's 1943 and the Germans are clearly going to lose the war. Some Germans want to eliminate Hitler, a goal that the OSS would like to aid. Others want to escape the Allies and re-establish Fascism in Argentina. Still others are looking to make money any way they can. Into that mix, young Cletus Frade finds himself as the key to leading history one way or the other. As the book opens, he's asked to help a German prisoner of war escape to become an advocate for peace. Life, death, and the fate of the world continually depend on his judgment, especially about who to confide in.
This novel has many impressive qualities that will make it memorable for anyone who reads it: fascinating insights into lots of famous people, fitting in historical events in a smooth way, clever descriptions of complex negotiations, poignant references to family and faith, good-hearted commitment to righting wrongs, fascinating references to technology, and villains you love to hate. The sheer number of characters and their interactions provide enough food for thought to keep you wondering about the brilliance of the authors for a long time.
Seeing World War II from the perspective of Argentina is a brilliant way to make the story stand out. That setting also makes the Americans and Germans seem different than they do in an "us" versus "them" story.
The book's main weakness is that having carried into the story so many characters and complexities, it's not simple or quick to resolve them. So the action moves a bit ponderously at times. But it's the kind of real-life slowness that often affects matters of great import, adding a note of further reality to the story.