Hans Raeder lost both his father and his younger brother in 1918. To cope with the pain he, like Germany itself, takes refuge in fantasies—not only the fantasies of others, but also those of his own creation. In a country rebuilding itself on myths and deception, Hans is prepared to do anything to become the idol he worships: a fighter pilot... even if it means turning into a Nazi monster. What he doesn't realize is that his destiny is linked to another young pilot, on the other side of the Atlantic...

The son of a hero from the Great War who made his fortune in the steel industry, James O'Brady is destined for a great career in politics. When his father is appointed ambassador to Germany, James goes with him, to get an inside of view of the geopolitical landscape in the mid-1930s. But James follows his own path... which is destined to cross that of a young German fighter pilot.

Hans Raeder has woken up in a German military hospital in France. Nothing out of the ordinary after having been wounded in combat. The problem is, he's convinced he's an American pilot by the name of James O'Brady. Since he can't tell anyone—especially not Theo, the young pilot who idolizes him—Hans will have to find his own way of discovering who he really is...

Late 1942: After his B-17 was shot down and struck by lightning, U.S. Air Force pilot James O'Brady comes around believing he is Hans Raeder, a German fighter ace. As he struggles to come to terms with his apparently hostile new environment, O'Brady sets out to discover whether he has gone mad or is the victim of a bizarre curse...

Whether he really is Hans Raeder, or whether he is in fact the young American pilot James O'Brady inside the German's body, Hans decides to accept himself as he is. But if James has taken over Hans's body, is the opposite also true? Is James's body inhabited by the spirit of Hans Raeder? And has he also accepted his fate, or is he trying to reverse it? It is time for both men to unravel the truth, and to choose their destinies once and for all. Their journey will take them to a remote island in the Pacific...

It's early 1943 and Hans Raeder, still trapped inside the body of James O'Brady, somehow manages to escape the chaos in North Africa and make his way to the Pacific, where another war is raging—between the United States and Japan. There he finally tracks down the elusive Sailosi, but his destiny is still linked to that of his American alter ego. Will fate bring the two men together at last?

Recovering his strength but still in search of himself, Hans Raeder finds his way from the Pacific to... England, where he joins the RAF. For him, it is an opportunity to fly back to Germany, where he soon regains his status as the Luftwaffe's ace pilot. But why is he no longer convinced by the Nazis' beliefs? What are these strange feelings he cannot seem to control? Before he can find answers, Hans learns of the Allied landings in Normandy and prepares to defend his country...

Autumn 1943: Nouméa, French Caledonia. James O'Brady is still tormented by visions of Esther, whom he left behind in Germany, and haunted by his nemesis, Hans Raeder. Hoping to rebuild his life, he breaks free of small-time trafficker Black Kite but his past catches up with him and his return to America is anything but glorious. A family tragedy adds to his misery before he is offered an unlikely way out. The upside is that he can return to Europe in search of his lost love. The downside is that he has little chance of coming out the other side alive...