The Axis defeated the Allied Forces in Europe and Asia. The Nazis successfully invaded the United States. The Great War was not a vindication of liberty but a triumph for evil. But that was seventy years ago. . .
Welcome to Germania, a territory formerly known as the United States. The ruling class are known as Elites, descended from the original leaders of the Reich. They enjoy privileged lives in a world long purged of those the Reich deemed “inferior.”
Stella Goering is the great-granddaughter of Hitler’s right-hand man, Hermann Goering. As an Elite, Stella is a celebrity. She enjoys a privileged life in the capital, New Berlin, once New York City. But she finds the bright lights and magazine write-ups a constant distraction from her self-imposed destiny of serving the Reich as a doctor. To Stella, the yearly ritual of all citizens testing their blood for purity is more of a nuisance than a patriotic gesture. But as a daughter of the Elite, she must have it done publicly, in front of all of Germania.
This year, Stella’s tests show something she never expected. Her genes link her to a race she thought was long extinct: the Jews. The penalty for such biological treason: death. Convinced this is a plot by Germania’s enemies to destroy the Reich’s confidence in its leaders, Stella relies blindly on the Elite to protect her until the situation can be proved a conspiracy. After all, the Reich has always protected her above everyone else. But Stella learns that in Germania, even the Elite are guilty until proven innocent. And having "dirty" genes is punishable by death.
Soon after finding out about her “contaminated” Jewish genes, Stella discovers that those she believed to be extinct are not only alive, but working to bring down the Reich. Known as the Remnants, they are all that remain of their respective cultures. Together, they keep their cultures alive, while evading the Nazis and working to defeat the Reich. The Remnants reveal to Stella both her true identity and what it means to fight to stay alive in a world where simply being who you are is punishable by death.
The Elite daughter of the Reich is now a Remnant, part of the resistance which has been active for over 70 years. Previously led by others who had escaped the genocides known as The Cleansings, they have never quite been able to work their way into the Reich. Now pitched against everything she has ever known, Stella is sent on a mission that can unlock the secrets of The Reich and defeat them once and for all.
This is not the first “alternate history” in which the Nazis win. In The Plot Against America, Philip Roth played with a vision in which Lindbergh defeats Roosevelt in the 1940 election and signs a compact with Germany. But The Remnants applies this thought experiment for the first time within the Young Adult context.
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