Bryce chronicles in splendid detail how the tiny and overburdened department in Ottawa worked behind the scenes to deal with the critical public policy challenges that accompanied World War II and postwar reconstruction. Canada's financial aid made it possible for Britain to wage an effective war and then deal with the destruction it wrought. Bryce details how Canada's Department of Finance can also be credited with overcoming some of Britain's most pressing balance-of-payments problems after the war.