After All

Two years before the end of WWII, two gifted German Jewish musicians--one a Holocaust survivor who barely escaped the infamous Theresienstadt concentration camp with his life, the other the daughter of a prominent Wehrmacht general--having fled the catastrophic Nazi conquest of Western Europe, where they had been hunted and hopelessly separated, reunite in Brazil. Dieter Meister, barroom piano man extraordinaire, and scintillating chanteuse Sofie von Siegler, the subjects of Robert Arthur Neff's first historical novel, Über Alles, seize a second chance at freedom and a life together.

But residual shadows from the war's conflict soon darken the skies of their bright new world. Determined parties, from a fledgling American intelligence agency to Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, relentlessly sniff out the trail of Sofie's father, hiding out in South America. As the net draws tight around Sofie and Dieter, it's impossible to tell who can be trusted. And the United States, after having assembled a military force unparalleled in history and executed a remarkable strategy for victory, turns out not to be so well prepared for the war's aftermath.

From his early years, Robert Arthur Neff has thrived on international involvement. Military service, business responsibilities, and personal travels have familiarized him with the locations and events entwined in his historical novel, Über Alles, a story he describes as "either a history lesson wrapped in a love story, or the reverse of that." Mr. Neff studied engineering, political science, and law at Cornell University, then he "entered the real world" as a JAG officer in the US Air Force. He was assigned to the 63rd Troop Carrier Wing of MATS, which aggregated squadrons deployed to overseas locations ranging from North Africa to Europe to Canada's DEW Line to New Zealand and Antarctica. These became a new kind of classroom for the itinerant lawyer. After his military service, Mr. Neff knew that he wanted a business career that would continue expanding his knowledge of many cultures and countries. He had the good fortune to find just such a job with the Rockefeller Brothers' International Basic Economy Corporation, headquartered at "30 Rock." Initially his assignments were focused upon Western Europe and The Middle East, but later they shifted to the management of various South American businesses, and that continent became Mr. Neff's home for several years. Prominent international businessmen were demanding more efficient, affordable air cargo services to accommodate the exploding growth of high-value international commerce. A leader in the movement was Mr. Laurance Rockefeller, whose participation in the airline industry collaterally yielded a welcome opportunity for Mr. Neff. He became an officer and director of Seaboard World Airlines, a major all-cargo airline which was pioneering international carriage innovations and also performing world-wide contract carriage for the US Department of Defense. Seaboard and the Flying Tiger Line later merged, and their combined activity eventually became an integral part of the contemporary Federal Express Corporation, from which Mr. Neff is a retiree. Mr. Neff now resides with his wife, Julie, in Pinehurst, NC, and on Beaver Island, MI. They continue to visit other parts of the world frequently, and Mr. Neff has formalized his lifelong interest in writing, drawing extensively upon themes suggested by his work and travels. Favored leisure activities include playing jazz standards on his oversized grand piano, watching and playing tennis, and enjoying the uncomplicated attractions of Nicaragua's Pacific Coast, where he does much of his serious writing.