First published 2014
David Warburg takes charge of the U.S. War Refugee Board and travels to Rome as the war ends. He wants to help the desperate European Jews flooding into the city. Marguerite d'Erasmo, a French-Italian Red Cross worker hiding secrets from her past, shows him around the complicated city. Monsignor Kevin Deane, a young American Catholic priest, also appears devoted to helping Italian Jews. Rome teems with fugitives, escaped Nazis, Jewish resistance fighters, and corrupt Church officials. Marguerite walks a dangerous line between seeking justice and pursuing revenge. She must deceive everyone around her. Warburg uncovers a massive scandal at the heart of it all. The Vatican operates a secret ratline that helps Nazi war criminals escape to Argentina. Church officials maintain this clandestine route. His faith in justice crumbles when he approaches American intelligence for help. He learns they already know about the ratline. Even people he trusts might betray him.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: betrayal, corruption, deception
Setting: Rome, Argentina
Period: World War II
362 pages · Hardcover · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Content warnings: violence, war