The Fifth Column

The Fifth Column Synopsis

From New York Times bestselling author Andrew Gross comes a thrilling tale about a family--and a Country--torn apart.

February, 1939. Europe is on the brink of war. In New York City, thousands of Nazi supporters pack Madison Square Garden for a hate-filled rally. A handful of blocks away, Charles Mossman is in a bar, reeling from the loss of his job and the demise of his marriage when a group draped in Nazi flags barges in. Drunk, Charles takes a swing at one--with tragic results. A torrent of unintended consequences follows, and Charles goes to prison.

"Powerful...ambitious...heroic."--Publishers Weekly

Two years later, America wrestles with whether to enter the war. Charles, now free, is wary of his estranged wife and daughter's neighbors in the city's German-immigrant community of Yorkville, where support for Hitler is common. Trudi and Willi Bauer seem like a kindly Swiss couple. But as the threat of war grows, so do fears of a "fifth column," a group of German spies embedded into everyday American life. Are the Bauers part of a sinister conspiracy? When Pearl Harbor is attacked--and the country can no longer sit on the sidelines--Charles will do whatever it takes to root out an unknown enemy, and protect his family...or die trying.

"Skillfully blends thriller, espionage, and historical fiction into a page-turning novel that will keep you in suspense right up until the very last page."--Criminal Element