The result of this freedom of information policy is that nothing major is a surprise to the reader, and there are many many scenes of characters discussing and pondering the significance of something that the reader already knows. I have not read many political thrillers, but this genre is a nice change of pace, especially when you know you will learn something that is new and valid. The antagonist, Gunther Hoth, a Gestapo policeman hunting Fitzgerald and his Resistance colleagues, is neither stupid nor inexperienced and almost becomes a sympathetic character. I like that his novels are slow burners, that you take time to get to know the characters and become immersed in the plot.

However, when he switches to the main plot line – the thriller/adventure story, things begin to go awry. Both the SS and the resistance realise that he holds the secret to the new weapons that America is developing, and both go to see him and visit his flat. And in a Birmingham mental hospital an incarcerated scientist, Frank Muncaster, may hold a secret that could change the balance of the world struggle forever. There is a paucity of interesting narrative in the novel, caused by the heavy attention to historical detail and certain ideas therein.And so begins a tense race between the resistance cell moving Frank across the country and the authorities trying to track them down until the thrilling ending. You can't help but think this would not be allowed in Britain but then can only acknowledge that even worse things are happening all around the world.

Churchill withdraws, eventually to lead a Resistance movement against the new Vichy-style regime, headed in succession by Halifax, David Lloyd George and finally Beaverbrook. The novel opens with a real historical scene, the meeting in the Cabinet Room of 10 Downing Street on 9 May, 1940. Jai ir Davidui su Franku, bei jų bičiuliams ant kulnų lipa iš Vokietijos iškviestas gestapo šturmbanfiureris Guntheris Hothas, negailestingas žmonių medžiotojas. A review in The Guardian conceded that some individuals are depicted in light that is less than favourable in the fictional work: "Because they are dead, defamation is no legal risk, but there may still be moral jeopardy.They have never got on, and they have a massive argument in Frank’s flat where Frank is told some of the secrets that xxx knows. After the German invasion of the West, and the disaster of Dunkirk, Halifax makes peace, entering into a treaty of friendship with Britain’s former enemy. At the risk of trying your patience I’m going to begin this review by looking at the justification for the premises contained in the novel, set out in a Historical Note at the very end. might be the theme tune to a tremendous novel that shakes historical preconceptions while also sending shivers down the spine.