Rudi Kratschmer, youngest of eight sons, was brought up in a tiny forested village within walking distance of the borders of Sudetanland. As Hitler advanced, the self-contained farming lifestyle was ripped apart, causing 19-year-old Rudi to join the partisans to fight for his country; and he was soon fleeing for his life across Czechoslovakia and Poland.

After arriving in England, he encountered more collaborators, but settled into the ways and language of his new home, using his engineering skills to help the war effort, becoming a highly respected design engineer in a wide range of industrial processes and developing a passion to pass on his knowledge. His work took him from Sheffield, Coventry and London across Europe and Africa, and throughout his life, it is the love of his homeland, his family and their well-being that has kept him going. This is a riveting story by--and about--a remarkable man.