It is an intriguing twist on the science fiction genre that paints a fascinating panorama of the American Heartland, specifically Wisconsin, in the mid-twentieth century. When David, an imaginative and intelligent junior high school student, meets the mysterious Mr. Roberts he is persuaded to join a secret organization of German nobles. David soon learns that this group has developed remarkable technology to help their mission an attempted reprise of the mania of ethnic purity and Aryan supremacy. What follows will pitch Davids life into a series of misdeeds, mystery, and mayhem, and eventually lead David to the brink of madness and very nearly death.

Frances Hodgson Burnett was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular Little Lord Fauntleroy (published in 1885-6), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911).