Indy, in an attempt to end the war, enlists the aid of Hapsburg royalty when he embarks on a dangerous diplomatic mission through enemy-held Europe into the palace of the Emperor of Austria.
As a young soldier in the Belgian Army, Indy learns the savagery of warfare while participating in the Battle of the Somme and amongst all the turmoil, Indy wonders if he won't live to see the war end.
While going to college and working in a speakeasy, Indy meets up jazz great Sidney Bechet who teaches him how to play the blues. Unfortunately, Indy also crosses paths with Al Capone and it's only with the assistance of his dorm roommate, Eliot Ness, that Indy is able to solve a vicious murder and prevent himself from ending up dead.
Indy and his girlfriend, Nancy Stratemeyer (whose father created the Nancy Drew mystery series) visit the fascinating laboratory of inventor Thomas Edison and they must contend with dangerous German spies, as they try to keep Edison's top-secret invention safe.
In Russia, Indy's espionage work threatens more lives when he infiltrates a group of young Bolsheviks and begins to sympathize with their plight, and causes Indy to question his loyalty.
In New York City, Indy stretches himself thin when he stage-manages a Broadway musical, dates three beautiful women, attends high society parties, reads poetry with Greenwich Village bohemians and trades barbs with the literary wits of the Algonquin Round Table, all accompanied by composer George Gershwin.
On a visit to Vienna, young Indy and his family stay with the American Ambassador in Austria where Indy meets Princess Sophie, the daughter of the heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and is given some advice on the meaning of love from Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Alfred Adler.
During a Thanksgiving dinner, professor Indiana Jones entertains his great-grandchildren by recalling a visit to China he made as a boy. While his father was working with the Chinese translator Yen Fu, young Indy, his mother and his tutor went sightseeing with their guide, Mr Li. After visiting the Great Wall of China, Indy fell ill during a rain storm and the travelers were taken in by a poor Chinese family. Dispite his mother's misgivings, she consented to have a local doctor treat her boy using acupuncture.
