In the Second World War, spring 1944: shortly before the planned Ardennes offensive, Germans and Americans stand waiting on the German-Belgian border. The small Eifel village of Winterspelt threatens to become the scene of a bloody battle. A German officer comes up with a plan to hand over his battalion to the Americans without a fight. He finds support from three inhabitants of the small village, who help him to present his offer of surrender to the Americans, which they ultimately reject.
Erik Hoopen’s “Oversea Travel Agency” in Hamburg fronts an international gold‐smuggling ring. Couriers hide gold bars in special vests, exporting them to black markets in Cairo, Khartoum, Hong Kong, and Singapore and returning with suitcases of cash. Fierce underworld competition leads to thefts and murders. Central to the intrigue is mysterious locker #763, tying the criminal network together.
