On the first day of school, a young boy expects only the worst when he discovers that his new teacher is the "monstrous" Mrs. Green.

The notorious Miss Swamp reappears at the Horace B. Smedley School, this time to shape up the football team and help them win at least one game.

The challenges, and frequent frustrations, of command are seen through the eyes of such luminaries as generals Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton and Rommel. Interweaving these prominent historical figures with a cast of ordinary soldiers thrust into extraordinary circumstances the book begins with Hitler's forces controlling western Europe, and U.S. troops facing off against the Germans in deserts of North Africa.