Throughout the novel, Harris gradually explains the fictional historical developments that allowed Germany to prevail in World War II. Although not specifically stated, the earliest
point of divergence is that Reinhard Heydrich survived the assassination attempt by Czech fighters in May 1942 –
which in reality killed him – and became head of the SS. The Nazi offensives on the Eastern Front ultimately pushed back the Soviet forces, with the
Case Blue operation succeeding in capturing the
Caucasus and cutting the
Red Army off from its petroleum reserves by 1943. The Nazis also uncovered the secret that the
Enigma machine code had been broken by Polish mathematicians. A massive
U-Boat campaign against Britain thereafter succeeded in starving the British into surrender by 1944, while the
D-Day invasion by the Allies never occurred.
King George VI and
Winston Churchill flee into exile in
Canada.
Edward VIII regained the British throne soon afterwards, with
Wallis Simpson as his queen. Although the Germans pushed the Soviets east of the
Ural Mountains, the conflict there continues.
The US defeated
Japan in 1945
using nuclear weapons. Germany tested its first
atomic bomb in 1946 and fired a non-nuclear "V-3" missile above
New York City to demonstrate an ability to attack the continental United States with long-range missiles. Thus, the US and Germany are the two superpower opponents in the
Cold War of this world.