 It was first published in hardcover by Lyford Books in June 1995; a Science Fiction Book Club edition followed in August of the same year, and a paperback edition from Presidio Press in 2004.The novel depicts a fictitious German invasion of the United States in 1901, shortly after William McKinley begins his second term as US President.The plot is based on an actual diplomatic crisis that nearly brought the United States and the German Empire into war during the early 20th century.