The book begins immediately after the Normandy invasion, with the euphoria surrounding the belief that the War would soon be won. However, it was not to be as easy Monty hoped. The book covers the difficult next few months as the allies slogged through France and Belgium fighting stern and skilled Nazi resistance. However, the centrepiece of the book is Operation Market garden - Monty's bold plan to cut through the German defences via the eight bridges which spanned the Dutch / German border. The book deals with the plan, its execution and aftermath in rigorous detail. Had Market Garden gone to plan, it might have led to an end of war before the end of 1944. As it was, it was the Russians that entered Berlin first in may 1945. Nonetheless, this period remains one of the boldest and most exciting of the War.