The bombing of Rome in 1943 leaves fourteen-year-old Massimo orphaned and with no choice but to set out on a perilous journey to find his remaining family in Naples.
A chance meeting with the mysterious and charismatic Pietro Houdini will deliver both of them to the doors of the monastery of Monte Cassino, a centuries-old haven of contemplation, learning and art. But the abbey is in the path of the relentless Allied advance to Rome. Pietro and Massimo need a plan to survive the coming onslaught and that means out-manoeuvring the Germans who are as interested in the abbey's art collection as in the murder of two of their officers in the town below.
For their plan to work, they must dissemble, disguise, and outwit two armies using skills that Pietro has in spades, but as war edges ever closer, it becomes clear that Massimo is not without a surprise or two either... 
 
'A brilliantly imagined World War II saga' Kirkus
‘A compellingly chaotic blend of art-heist thriller, wartime adventure, historical epic and coming-of-age drama’ Observer
‘Derek B Miller has crafted an ambitious, sometimes tricksy story full of colourful characters…darkly funny, readable and intelligent’ Times