A historical novel that opens in Europe in 1941, during World War II, with the introduction of a German secret agent, Hans Farber, following a successful mission in Leningrad, Russia. His superior and head of the Abwehr, Admiral Canaris, charges Hans with a nigh-impossible task: assassinate the prime minister of Britain, Sir Winston Churchill, at the rendezvous point between that political leader and the president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The intended outcome of Hans' mission would be the demoralization of Britain, making it ripe for invasion by the Nazis. The two world leaders were scheduled to meet aboard ship in the waters off Ship Harbour, Newfoundland, to negotiate the Americans' involvement in the war effort against Adolf Hitler.