Paris, 1924. Once a promising American writer, Will Cotton now writes filler pieces for women's magazines, not quite eking out a living on the scorned periphery of the city’s literary elite. When his novel receives yet another rejection, his only remaining option is to run from his overdue bills and return home, an unpublished failure.
But he is given a reprieve. A mysterious benefactor appears, one who seems to know Cotton, and his work, all too well. He offers Cotton a job, a steady salary, and more importantly, to publish his writings.
The catch? Cotton must collect “quiet observations” of the goings-on in neighboring Germany. A new and lethal political force has taken hold there. A frequent visitor to Berlin, Cotton has already witnessed their race-hatred and murderous street violence first hand. Now, down to his last few francs and desperate to get his novel published, Cotton must decide if success is worth the price of becoming a spy.
