Two techniques enable Shaw to tell his tale of two armies, three continents, and four years without bogging down in details, narrative connections, and subplots. One is a focus on scenes. The novel is a series of dramatic scenes connected by brief narrative. Alternating scenes of sexual tension, social interaction, and pitched battle, Shaw keeps the novel progressing. Among the novel's memorable scenes are the destruction of a British desert patrol by Christian's commando unit, Noah's resistance to the boot camp bullies, and Michael's encounter with his ex-wife after their divorce.

The other technique incorporates subtle, gradually unifying ties among the three protagonists. Their stories begin, literally, continents apart but steadily, inevitably converge. At first the connections are tenuous, minor characters in common or parallel, mirroring events. Later, they are more direct. Michael and Noah meet briefly in boot camp before going separate ways. At Normandy the accidents...