Pug Henry accompanies American banker Luigi Gianelli on a diplomatic mission to Italy to see if Il Duce will meet with a peace envoy. The Italian dictator agrees but when the same approach is made to Hitler, he declines. Pug's wife Rhoda is bored out of her mind living in Berlin and is thrilled when they are invited for a hunting weekend to the home of an ultra-rich banker, Wolf Stoller. Pug is aware however that Stoller has made his fortune by forcing Jews to sells their businesses for only a fraction of their value. The German invasion of Western Europe in the spring of 1940 results in Neville Chamberlain's resignation and the appointment of Winston Churchill as Prime Minister. It also puts to rest any U.S. peace initiative. The Henry clan reunite in the U.S. for Warren's marriage to Janice Lacouture, the daughter of a well-known isolationist Congressman. Byron and Natalie get engaged but any plans for marriage are put on hold while Byron decides whether to attend submarine school.
—garykmcd