To get the most out of this series it's best to read in order. Only then does this make a lot of sense. The series has an overarching time line but the stories always drift back in time and this book does a lot of drifting. It starts in 1954 Cuba, the current time line and moves to Germany via the USA and then switches back and forth between Germany and France. All the time it goes back in time as Bernie recalls past events, Berlin 1931, Russia 1945 where he was a POW, France and Germany 1940, Russia 1941 and a lot of switching in between.  It does get complicated at times.

However, the overarching story is Bernie's connection to a German communist, who he first met in 1931, by the name of Erich Mielke, a real person who went on to head up the Stasi in East Germany. Bernie is just a pawn in a concocted plot by the CIA to get their hands on Miekle.

But this book does reveal more about Bernie and his past that has only been hinted at in other books in the series. In particular how he ended up being a POW of the Soviets and the terrible experience it was. All Bernie ever wanted from life was to do the right thing and survive even if he has to be used by others which seems happen a lot.

I enjoyed this as it was very informative and I found myself constantly checking out if so-and-so was real or not. There a lot of real people from history in this book. I enjoy this series a lot and recommend to those interested in history.