This book describes the struggle for power between two totalitarian dictatorships in the north of Europe and the battle for survival of a small nation caught between them. In the Winter War of 1939-40, Finland successfully fought off a Soviet invasion. Then, with no one to turn to but Germany, it became the only democratic state in the Axis powers. Ultimately, it succeeded in extricating itself from the war and, despite the shadow of Russia looming over it, averted a communist takeover.