It was autumn, 1944. As the Allies make great gains in France, the Channel Islands remain a bastion of Nazi-occupied territory. On Jersey, Colonel Max von Aufsess is in charge of liaising with the civilian population. He has little time for his fanatical colleagues, and has earned the respect of many of the Islanders. On an early morning ride, Max is disturbed to find several corpses washed up on the beach. Puzzled by their clothes - they wear the distinctive striped uniform of concentration camp inmates, but the nearest camp is in the heart of Holland, over 500 miles away - he is compelled to investigate. The evidence of an escaped Ukrainian prisoner leads him to Alderney, the 'Island of Silence' - for there lies a secret concentration camp, whose inmates are being forced to construct a crude nuclear weapon intended for nearby London. Max knows he has to stop it, yet he can't do it alone. But, will the Islanders trust a man who wears the swastika?