In the years before World War II, Adolf Hitler wanted to prove the greatness of the Third Reich in everything from track and field to motorsports. The Nazis poured money into the development of new race cars, and Mercedes-Benz came out with a stable of supercharged automobiles called Silver Arrows. Their drivers dominated the sensational world of European Grand Prix racing and saluted Hitler on their many returns home with victory.

As the Third Reich stripped Jews of their rights, a young driver named René Dreyfus—a Frenchman of Jewish descent—was barred from competition. At about this time, Lucy Schell, an American heiress and top Monte Carlo Rally driver, was deciding to take on Germany’s Silver Arrows. She needed a racer for the new team she was creating, and she chose Dreyfus. In addition, she funded the development of a nimble new tiger of a car, built by a little-known French manufacturer. As the nations of Europe marched ever closer to war, Schell and Dreyfus faced down Hitler’s top drivers…and the world held its breath, waiting to see who would triumph.