This is a fictional account of the spring and summer in 1939 that John F Kennedy raced around Europe. John F Kennedy actually spent time in Europe before the war started. He was working on his senior honors thesis for Harvard. Many of the events and people are real, but Francine Mathews stretches the story. The action moves quickly as Hitler gathers momentum. The only part of the story I found a little overdone was the constant reminder of John Kennedy's sickness. I felt that every chapter had to constantly remind the reader of Kennedy's sickness and his ineptitude. Mathews would constantly state the John was always a pale shadow of his brother Joe. John was considered the child that would not amount to anything, and the family was never around while John suffered illness in the many hospitals. Mathews presents a different image of JFK.