A German Catholic boy and a Polish Jewish girl join forces to oppose Adolf Hitler as he makes his move to power. The story opens in Nuremberg, where Berthold Becker is on trial with other major Nazi war criminals. He expects a death sentence, but Anna Gorska arrives and testifies on his behalf. Berthold is sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Forty-five years later, the daughter of Becker's Nuremberg prosecutor asks her father to collaborate with her in a book about the characters in his Nuremberg trial. That book becomes the frame within which the story of Berthold and Anna is told.

Book One covers the years from 1923 to 1933, from Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch to his appointment as Chancellor.