First published 1999
An American foreign correspondent working in newly reunified Germany finds himself drawn beyond his professional assignment. While documenting the country's evolving social and political landscape, he turns his investigative skills toward a more personal mystery. His own German heritage becomes the subject of inquiry as he searches through records and family history. The deeper he digs, the more uncomfortable truths emerge about his ancestors' actions during Germany's darkest chapters. Each discovery forces him to confront questions about inherited guilt, family loyalty, and national identity. His search reveals information that challenges everything he thought he knew about his bloodline. The investigation becomes a reckoning with the weight of family secrets and the lingering shadows of German history that refuse to stay buried.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, american, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: personal-journey, reckoning-with-the-past
Setting: Germany
Period: Newly Reunified Germany
Hardcover · Putnam Adult