[1] The book follows Walter Mosca, an American World War II veteran who returns to Germany for his girlfriend, Hella.

The novel explores life in post-war Germany, a place where the standard currency is not the German mark, or even the U.S. dollar, but U.S.-made cigarettes.

The San Francisco Chronicle: "Puzo tells his story brutally, violently, and undoubtedly all very much as it all might have been."

In the 1972 collection The Godfather Papers and Other Confessions, Puzo stated that he made $3,500 from the book.

The reviewers gave it modest acclaim, and admitted that Puzo had "solid talent.