older son on the Eastern front. While briefly visiting his home in Altgarten, Bach proposes marriage to the young Faith and Beauty Society member who cares for his younger son. In Altgarten, the Bürgermeister finalises preparations for his own birthday banquet, at a restaurant in the medieval town square. While the town's hospital treats war injuries, and its TENO (Technische Nothilfe or "Civil Defence") engineers often work in the Ruhr and have experience with air raids, the fire department does not have such experience. The RAF is organising a large raid on Krefeld in the Ruhr. The bomber crews relax and prepare for the ordeal. The men, their planes, weapons, responsibilities, attitudes, thoughts, and fears are described in great detail. There are frequent references to weather conditions, meteorological phenomena, and forecasts that add to the foreboding in the plot. The bombs are loaded into the Lancasters, the German radars "warm up", and the fighter pilots adjust their night vision. Superstitions, rites, and rituals are respected as the combatants ready themselves. The British bomber stream forms up and avoids known flak concentrations and searchlight batteries. Despite the meticulous planning, things go wrong immediately: A Lancaster almost crashes on take-off; a Ju 88 crashes into the sea after a bird strike over the IJsselmeer; another is shot down by a friendly flak-ship. As German radar tracks the bombers, tiny pieces of shrapnel from an 88mm anti-aircraft shell destroy Lancasters, each costing more than £42,000 ($ in ). A pathfinder Mosquito is downed and the marker bombs it is carrying explode southeast of Altgarten; with little flak and clear bombing conditions, Christmas Tree marker pyrotechnics are placed over the wrong target. Creepback causes the carpet bombing of a town of 5,000 inhabitants by a force designed for a city. The raid's two waves cause a firestorm that destroys Altgarten; many of the main characters on both sides die or lose those close to them. Despite the attack completely missing its industrial target no one is punished for the failure, but Himmel and Lambert are executed and demoted, respectively, for non-combat reasons. The book ends with an epilogue which gives details of the post-raid lives of the major characters. Viewpoints The crew of RAF Lancaster bomber, nicknamed "Creaking Door", particularly its pilot, Flight Sergeant Sam Lambert August Bach, the commanding officer of a Luftwaffe radar station on the Dutch coast Oberleutnant Victor Löwenherz, an