Bauer's Run

Bauer's Run is an historical thriller set mostly in Europe between 1944 and 1995. A highly placed Nazi escapes from Berlin in the last summer of the war-taking with him a large truckload of art and gold. Making his way to Zurich, he leaves no witnesses. With the help of an uncle (director of a private bank), a surgeon (for a new face), and a na ve American girl with an illegitimate child, he forges a new identity as Wolfe Bauer. Wolfe marries the girl and raises her son (Mark) as his own. Through conniving, blackmail, and murder, he works his way up in the Swiss banking world. Mark grows up a child of privilege between Wolfe and his wealthy American grandparents. Ironically, at university he is drawn to art and art history. His best friend is a Jew who survived the camps. While teaching at the Sorbonne, Mark establishes an archival trust to locate and return art stolen by the Nazis. The work drives a wedge between father and son and gains Mark an international reputation. As Wolfe's heir, he discovers his legacy of murder, stolen art and gold. He must find a way to return the ill-gotten gains to the rightful owners while shielding his family from the knowledge of his father's war crimes. He must also protect them from Wolfe's Nazi and Arab confederates who will kill to acquire the fortune the cache represents. Does he have the strength to do what is right-to make restitution-regardless of the risk? Who will come from the shadows of the distant past to threaten his life and lay claim to the long-lost fortune? Mark will have to rely on his own creativity and that of like-minded friends to keep his family and himself safe. Thousands of pieces of this lost art are still out there with more being discovered every day. Fans of "The Monuments Men" will enjoy Bauer's Run.