He is inserted into the Battle of Berlin in 1945 during the final days of World War II, with the critical objective of preventing German nuclear technology from falling into the hands of invading Soviet forces.

One of the main features of the game is the option of realistic ballistics, involving factors such as bullet drop, wind strength, and breathing when attempting a shot.

His superiors have tasked him with thwarting efforts by the Soviet Union to obtain information, personnel, and technology from the German nuclear weapons program.

The rest of the characters (such as Dr. Max Lohmann, a key German scientist who Fairburne is assigned to help capture and escort out of Berlin to America in order to prevent him from falling into the hands of the NKVD) are fictional with the exception of George S. Patton, commander of the American forces assaulting Berlin, who is responsible for authorizing Fairburne's mission.

[11][12] In this book, Karl Fairburne's mission is to stop a rogue SS officer named Helmstadt from selling Germany's only working atomic bomb to the Soviets.