Honor and Innocence: Against the Tides of War by Glen Hierlmeier
Honor & Innocence small book cover
Honor and Innocence: Against the Tides of War, a historical romance novel by Glen Hierlmeier, was released March 2014. It is available for sale on Amazon.
Honor and Innocence is the first in a series of novels that weaves together a deeply intriguing and heart-grabbing love story with the authentic historic circumstances and chaos in Europe that followed WW II. This first book in the series takes the reader through the devastation left by World War II across the European and Asian continents, following the course forced upon two unlikely lovers, Hank, an American soldier, and Roberta, a German girl, the twin sister of a German prisoner of war Hank is responsible for. Hank falls in love with Roberta, rescues her from the British Intelligence forces, and an improbable romance and death defying escape ensues. The reader is immersed in the intense and captivating journey with Hank and Roberta and learns history from a perspective often overlooked in the history books.
Hank Fischer is drafted into the American Army soon after high school graduation in 1945, which begins a six month saga of intrigue, horror, and love that takes him from his southern Wisconsin home to Texas, then Germany, Switzerland, Greece, and Singapore, revealing along the way the devastating truth of the tragic consequences of war. In the Texas prisoner of war camp where Germans were interned, a youthful and naïve Hank is targeted by Haynes who becomes his lifelong tormentor, but he also begins his closest, nearly unimaginable lifelong friendship with Max, a German prisoner of war under his supervision, whose twin sister, Roberta, back in their German homeland, is destined to become the love of his life and his wife.
Hank is drawn into a dangerous web of intrigue by the common heritage he shares with Max, a prisoner of war being returned to his homeland, and the intense love he finds with Max’s sister, Roberta. Because of their ties to the SS through their father, a senior Nazi official hand-selected by Adolph Hitler himself, Max and Roberta are pursued by the Intelligence Forces of the American and British Occupation.
Faced with a choice between his love for Roberta and allegiance to the Army, Hank chooses to collaborate with Max and free Roberta from a British prison camp, beginning a desperate flight through war-torn Germany where they witness first-hand the ravages of post –war Europe, while staying perilously ahead of pursuing forces. Their flight takes them to a secret refuge in the mountains of neutral Switzerland where Lazlo, a Hungarian born war-time profiteer provides the opportunity for their escape. Sadly leaving Max behind in Switzerland they set out for the port city of Trieste by train, only to survive an attack by post-war Italian Army pirates, then sail the seas on a merchant ship with a modern day Greek philosopher, Captain Koz, to search out hidden treasure in a small Greek village. Again forced to flee, Captain Koz helps them find refuge across the Indian Ocean, in Singapore, only to once again face the bane of powerful men…another war-torn country. Their very survival hangs in the delicate balance between their powerful love and will to live, and evil man’s violent quest for power and wealth. Their amazing journey, immersed in horrors of war, bombed-out cities, displaced person by the millions, desperation and hopelessness, give the reader a rare look at the despair of victims of the hubris of men seeking power for the sake of power, amidst their powerful love story.
About the Author:
Glen graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, then earned a Masters of Business Administration at The University of Wisconsin at Madison. He served in the US Air Force on the Manned Orbiting Laboratory space exploration program and on the design phase of the development of the F-15 fighter aircraft. After leaving the Air Force, Glen returned to Wisconsin and became Vice President of the largest bank in his home state, First Wisconsin National Bank. In 1979, he moved on to become President and CEO of several real estate development and management companies. Glen retired in 2009 to devote full time to his grandchildren and his writing. Glen is the author of Honor and Innocence, We Had to Live: We Had No Choice..., and Thoughts From Yesterday: Moments to Remember.
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To learn more, go to http://glenthomasbooks.net/