Southern Italy, 1943: The German army is quickly losing ground to the Allied assault and retreating towards Rome. The quiet town of Vietri sul Mare has been spared from the ravages of war -- until the arrival of an SS officer amidst the confusion of the retreat, armed with a single, deadly purpose. Aylesbury, 1956: David Montefort, a twelve-year-old boy uprooted from his old life, arrives at the lavish Ambrose House. He begins to learn the history of his enigmatic family -- and the complicated link it has to the day Vietri sul Mare lost its innocence. But Vietri was only the beginning -- and the SS officer, evading punishment for his war crimes, still has an unfinished agenda that involves the Montefort family. This thrilling mystery from Margaret M Ford places David in the middle of a bloody legacy spanning three countries and two decades in the race to unravel the mysteries which began in 1943. The truth will turn his idle curiosity about his own roots into the unveiling of a shocking series of crimes -- and his own fight for survival.