The surprise, speed, and violence of the forebears of U.S. Army Rangers, U.S. Navy SEALs, and SAS Commandos prove that "those who dare, win."

By May 1940, panzer divisions had decimated Belgium, sliced through France, and reached Calais. Lieutenant John Randal, a veteran of the U.S. 26th Cavalry Regiment, volunteers to help slow their advance. What unfolds is a blend of military guerrilla tactics, suspense, humor, and brotherly camaraderie — plus a little romance between the American GI and the widowed Lady Jane Seaborn.

Along the way readers meet such colorful characters as the movie star Captain David Niven in MO-9 and Captain "Geronimo Joe" McKoy with his Traveling Wild West Show and Shooting Emporium. The author — a decorated Ranger — covers the details of war extensively, from the five points of contact of a parachute landing fall to descriptions of a British raider's A-5 flinging Jerries like rag dolls before the first shell casing even hits the floor.

As the novel ends, Major Randal's men, fresh from Operation Tomcat — the first British parachute raid in France — learn they'll deploy via sea transport within forty-eight hours on their next mission. The second book, which has already been written, tells that tale.