Henri, a young orphaned Frenchman raised in Boston, heads to his former home in Normandy, France in search of his family lost to the Nazis in WWII. After losing his parents in a devastating fire during a bombing attack in Normandy, he returns to 1955 postwar Germany and learns many secrets to his past. Then follow shocks that make him realize the true horrors of forced labour camps.
This story is the culmination of a trilogy of historical novels set in 20th century America. (1) "At the Fringes of Society": When an out-of-control husband threatens the life of his wife, Annie, to steal her father's fortune, this gilded age dilettante and her family flee from Boston to Canada, starting out new lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia among working classes to hide from him. (2) "White Jazz/Black Ops": Annie's son Alex and daughter Nicole and their risky pursuits take them into dangerous territory when they get involved with Mobs in the Capone era, and struggle with life and death challenges at the onset of World War II.