This book is a fas­ci­nat­ing fic­tion­al account of the cul­tur­al and polit­i­cal events of the year 1939, told in 12 chap­ters, month by month. The rise of Hitler is fol­lowed close­ly in reports by a fic­tion­al war cor­re­spon­dent while enter­tain­ment news is tracked by anoth­er reporter. We learn about the pub­lic and behind-the-scenes details of the 1939 World’s Fair. The sto­ry pro­gress­es through the lives of a cast of char­ac­ters in New York and Hol­ly­wood, includ­ing a direc­tor, actors, musi­cians, dancers, poets, an archi­tect, and a patron of the arts who is also an arms mer­chant. Every­one is affect­ed by the impend­ing war, but some ignore it while oth­ers wish to take action. The fam­i­ly of one char­ac­ter is unable to get out of Europe and there is a pall of doom over the future. An inno­v­a­tive nov­el for teens and adults.