First published 1979
Count Alex Wintergrin once led Wehrmacht forces into Warsaw, then vanished without a trace. The truth proves more complex. Wintergrin abandoned his Nazi uniform and fed Hitler's invasion plans to Polish security forces. He spent the war years in Norway, fighting Germans alongside the resistance. Now Wintergrin has a new mission. He stirs East Germans to rebel against Soviet control, and Moscow responds by threatening to send tanks rolling across Europe. The CIA faces an impossible choice. Another world war looms unless someone can silence Wintergrin. They dispatch Blackford Oakes, their most persuasive operative, to reason with the charismatic count. If diplomacy fails, Oakes has orders to kill him. Wintergrin represents everything Oakes respects, a man who betrayed evil and fought for freedom. Yet stopping him may be the only way to prevent millions of deaths. Oakes must choose between admiring a hero and saving the world from war.
Genres: 20th-century, action, espionage, alternate-history
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, moral-dilemma
Setting: Warsaw, Norway, Europe
Period: World War II
350 pages · Paperback · Warner Books