A rare book collector finds a manuscript that might have changed the course of WWI.

On the evening of November 11th, 1968, antiquarian book collector Francis Altman is giving a talk in honor of the anniversary of the Armistice Treaty. But his lecture takes a dark turn upon the haunting arrival of a classmate from his past. As the two men discuss their lives they realise that they are two sides of the same coin: both born and raised in Germany, but whereas Altman's role in the war elevated his position, his comrade's life was destroyed on the faceless, mechanized battlefields.

This strange encounter leaves Altman in possession of the man's personal manuscript, his mysterious 'life's work,' whose contents could have changed the course of history…

The Best American Crime Reporting 2009