As is usual in Turtledove novels, the action occurs from several points of view, including historical figures such as Minoru Genda and Mitsuo Fuchida.
In the fall of 1948, Fuchida was passing by the bronze statue of Hachiko at the Shibuya Station when he was handed a pamphlet about the life of Jacob DeShazer, a member of the Doolittle Raid who was captured by the Japanese after his B-25 bomber ran out of fuel over occupied China.