Enter an alternate history, where in 1916, the guns of the Great War fell silent.

Now, in the 1920s, a veteran of the trenches struggles to build a lasting peace...

...while against him scheme the merchants of death.

~ ~ ~

Equipped only with tact, cleverness, fluency in French, and a Luger pistol, Fritz Bauer arrives in Paris on a highly secret mission.

Many a young prince has journeyed to the City of Light to receive instruction in the arts of love.

But when that young prince is the German emperor's grandson...

...French public opinion seethes over ignoble defeat...

...and publicity of the prince's visit could topple the French government, or drive an assassin to spark another round of devastation and mass slaughter...

Millions of lives rely on Fritz and his talents.

In Paris, he must forge uneasy alliances with both his counterparts in French intelligence and the young prince's hostess. Only with their help can he play and win a dangerous game in the shadows.

Someone wants another Great War.

Who?

And can Fritz and his temporary allies find and stop the enemies of peace before time runs out?

Raymund Eich files patent applications, earned a Ph.D., won a national quiz bowl championship, writes science fiction and fantasy, and affirms Robert Heinlein's dictum that specialization is for insects.

In a typical day, he may talk with university biology and science communication faculty, silicon chip designers, patent attorneys, epileptologists, and rocket scientists. Hundreds of papers cite his graduate research on the reactions of nitric oxide with heme proteins.

He lives in Houston with his wife, son, and daughter.