Born into a cultured German-Jewish family in 1887, Kurt Wolff became one of the 20th century's most visionary publishers, bringing to light the works of Franz Kafka and Joseph Roth. Fleeing Germany after the Reichstag fire, Kurt and his wife, Helen, made their way to New York, where they founded Pantheon Books. But Kurt's son Niko was left behind, where despite his Jewish heritage he served the Nazis on two fronts. As Kurt's grandson Alexander Wolff visits dusty archives and meets distant relatives, he uncovers here still other secrets that never made it to the land of fresh starts.