In the spring of 1964, Rome is a cauldron of feverish activity. The Communist Party is seeking to solidify its control of the Italian government while, at the same time at the Vatican, leaders of the Catholic Church are endeavoring to breathe new life into an ancient organization. Unknowingly drawn into this maelstrom are a young, East German female assassin, an equally young American nun, and a twenty-year old mime, who passes himself off as a nun in order to evade capture by undercover CIA agents after he inadvertently learns of their plans. Key to the mix is the uncanny resemblance one of the nuns has to the assassin. This factor throws the main protagonist into a dangerous plot that may be her ultimate undoing. Against the backdrop of a pulsating Rome and a mysterious Florence, many tense and hilarious situations result from the interaction of these disparate characters.