The year is 1917, and Canadian Robert McLaren, nephew of a wealthy munitions manufacturer, has come to Petrograd to sell shells to the Russian army-shells rejected by British munitions specialists as unreliable.

At McLaren's side is Evers Chance, a man with connections in the import-export business, among other, more mysterious ties. Together the two attempt to negotiate a deal as Russia moves inexorably toward revolution.

Back in Canada, McLaren's uncle, William Drummond, schemes to maximize profits from his munitions plant while hiding the company's record of producing poor-quality shells. An upcoming election could spell disaster for the businessman even as it ushers in a nationwide crisis.

To the south, America seems determined to avoid the European conflict, until Germany offers an alliance to Mexico and forces President Woodrow Wilson's hand.

As the United States scrambles to assemble a fighting force, the brutality of trench warfare continues in France, even as powerful new land cruisers-tanks-roll onto the battlefront. And while ordinary people just try to survive, nations consider what the planet will look like when the war ends-and how they can best position themselves in that new world.