"Leaving the chaos of postwar Germany for an uncertain future, 17-year-old Gerhardt Thamm arrived in America in 1948 with little more than his American birth certificate. With minimal command of English and little formal education, he enlisted in the Army and found himself assigned to operations where his German language abilities were put to use"--Provided by publisher.

A man for all seasons -- Words of wisdom -- A note about names -- Prologue--A man called Trenker -- Scared as hell -- Riding the rollercoaster -- Boy soldier -- Strangers in our own land -- Life in post-World War II Germany -- Black market days -- America at last -- You're in the Army now-- -- War--Once again -- Assignment : the U.S. Army general school -- Germany, here I come -- Something special -- The visit -- Every man has a price -- Tattered cloak and rusty dagger -- Doktor Hermann and Georg Trenker -- The transformation -- Special operations team number three (Specops 3) -- Special tasks--German automobile license plates -- Special tasks--the proprietary -- Special tasks--the proprietary 2 -- Nosy old lady -- Close call -- Special tasks--the proprietary 3 -- On the streets of Berlin -- Not quite according to the rules -- Ceramics? -- Problem in the floor wax business -- Contact lost -- Code name: "The Shepherd" -- Another busy day in Berlin -- Reorganization : the new boss -- Wasted effort -- The last Christmas in Silesia -- New task--Build a bolthole -- Life is a gamble -- End tour of duty -- Trust, and the bad apple -- Order, counterorder -- The later years -- Postscript.