No Deals, Mr President

The story is centred on the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when the world came closest to all-out nuclear war. It begins with a scene in the White House, where Bobby Kennedy, the US Attorney General, faces the greatest challenge of his career: the confrontation between the superpowers over the installation of nuclear weapons on the island of Cuba. The main narrative explores the motivations and actions of Roger, a British industrial chemist, who, after attending his retirement party in 2010, wakes the following morning to find himself back in 1962, and now 18 years old again. Recovering from the shock of this time-shift, Roger realises that he can foresee the major trends of the following half-century, and sees it as his duty to warn the world of potential dangers. The publication of an article in the national press results in a television appearance in which Roger reveals a momentous secret: the Russians are planning to install nuclear missiles in Cuba, threatening US cities with destruction. After the show a young woman lures Roger to an apartment in London, where Soviet agents offer inducements in return for his cooperation. He tries to evade further such encounters by fleeing to various locations in England, including the home of a songwriter in Hertfordshire. On a visit to London, an attempt is made on Roger's life, but the songwriter's teenage daughter is killed in error. Roger again has to flee, but is now invited by the CIA to travel to Washington DC, where a mysterious encounter awaits him. There he meets 19-year-old Simon, a Virginian, and it dawns on the two of them that both have experienced the same time-shift from 2010 to 1962. Simon plants in Roger's mind a belief in American invincibility, and the need to stand up to Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, rather than offering to make any deals with him. A road accident hospitalises Simon and brings Roger into contact with schoolboy Kurt Dreschel. Shortly after this, Roger is interviewed on American TV, where he echoes Simon's brash views on the Cuban crisis. As autumn approaches, tension between the superpowers escalates to the point where fighting breaks out on the high seas. Roger fears that his return to 1962, though full of good intentions, has led to a string of disasters, with the ultimate one looming. An apparent nuclear strike is the last thing he remembers before waking up back in 2010. There he encounters Dreschel once again, now an ageing history professor on a lecture tour of the UK. The two of them astound each other with their respective insights, but a profound mystery remains to the very end.