Postwar Czechoslovakia: the master key to Europe? -- Resurrecting Czechoslovakia from its Munich grave -- General Eisenhower declines to liberate Prague -- Spring 1945: the Americans return to the Schönborn Palace -- Ambassador Steinhardt's delayed arrival -- A chronicle of wasted opportunities -- Steinhardt encounters reality: nationalization, expulsions, and U.S. military withdrawal -- America's warning signs: from the Stæechovice raid to the May 1946 elections -- Great expectations and lost illusions: U.S. intelligence in postwar Prague -- Passing the point of no-return: Prague withdraws from the Marshall Plan -- The communists exchange popularity for absolute power -- The Schönborn Palace under siege: Americans as "spies and saboteurs.".