The Janus imperative

by Evelyn Anthony

Max Steiner is the unhappily married, German-born, Paris-based foreign correspondent for a London paper, and he's on assignment when West German politician Sigmund Walther is shot down beside him by two assassins; the dying man whispers: ""Janus. . . ."" This shocks Steiner who, as a 1945 Hitler Youth, was ordered to execute a man who also died saying, ""Janus. . . find Janus."" Steiner sets out to do just that, with the help of Walther's widow Minna, a middle-aging mother of five who's not too old for a gentle fling with Steiner. Meanwhile, the CIA and West German Intelligence converge on the search for Janus--whom the assassinated Walther had also been tracking down--and the professional hit team that killed Walther (two men working for KGB) is assigned a new list of victims to be taken out, including Max, Minna, and a mysterious nun. What is Janus all about? Whom are they all seeking? Hitler's son, of course--who it turns out is dead. But the son's twin sister still lives--the nun!-