The most action-packed novel by Arthur Koestler. "Black Pearl" of his creative heritage. An unusual literary experience in the genre of “alternative history”. What if the Soviet troops had not stopped at the Elbe? What if France was under threat of a new occupation? The next collaborators are already preparing proscription lists. A young American woman is trying to call on the rest of the powers of the “free world” to help France. But the allied countries are still ready to satisfy the growing appetites of the Soviet Union, and “merry Paris” does not seem to care that his days of fun are already numbered.