The Harz Mountains, May 1945. The radio says the war is over, but the railway tunnel has yet to hear the news. Oberfeldwebel Heinz Keller and his crew are waiting at its mouth beside a Tiger tank whose engine gave out weeks ago. They have one crate of shells left, a radio that does nothing but hiss, and the last of their cigarettes. Then an American Sherman rolls out of the trees, and its commander opens the hatch with a joke instead of a burst of fire. Lieutenant James Cooper wants an honest surrender. He also wants to know what is hidden in the dark behind the armored locomotive, because the Germans are plainly guarding it. Heinz knows only what the order says: the cargo must never fall into enemy hands, and if it is ever in danger of being found, it is to be destroyed at any cost. His captain still believes that order. Heinz has kept his men alive for four years, and he intends to bring the youngest of them home to Nuremberg. Now the war is officially over, the enemy is holding out his hand, and the one man who wants to keep fighting is on his own side.



The Harz Mountains, May 1945. The war has officially ended. A Tiger stands at the mouth of a railway tunnel, its engine dead and one last crate of shells left. Then a Sherman rolls into view. Inside waits a cargo that must never fall into enemy hands, along with an order to destroy it.