It is the spring of 1929 and, while the international jet set is celebrating the last hurrah of the jazz age, the international military set is gearing up for a war to make the world safe for dictatorships. In Berlin Count Siegfried von Ohr is accustomed to dividing his time between partying and espionage. Now the Minister wants him to go to the Soviet Union. Stalin has given permission for Germany (stripped of all its armed forces by the VersaillesTreaty) to operate a clandestine airbase in Russia, where the future officers of both the Luftwaffe and the Red Air Force will be secretly trained and equipped. Siegfried recruits his younger brother Tristan (a pilot) to join him in the Workers Paradise. Everything the brothers do there will be dangerous—and illegal. In Moscow Siegfried soon discovers that being a “guest” of Stalin brings him to the attention of the dreaded secret police, the OGPU. Circumstances require Siegfried to do a favor for the head of the secret police. But then a crazed OGPU agent tries to recruit Siegfried into a conspiracy to destroy Stalin! Luckily at this precise moment the Minister orders Siegfried to go to Italy and enjoy the pretty scenery and spy on Mussolini