AustLit

'A fearless Italian girl risks everything to save precious artworks from the Nazis in a gripping story of love and war from the bestselling author of The Light After the War.

'Rome, 1943: Marina Tozzi adores her father Vittorio and working together in his art gallery is her only escape from the reality of the Nazi occupation. Not only has Marina inherited her father’s passion for art but she is earning a reputation as an expert in own right.

'However, Vittorio is keeping a deadly secret from his daughter. He has been hiding a Jewish artist in their basement and one day Marina returns home to find her father has been brutally murdered by a German officer. Devastated, Marina flees to Florence to seek help from a man who owes Vittorio his life. 

'Renowned American art expert Bernard Berenson offers Marina sanctuary in his villa outside Florence and a job cataloguing his vast art library. Marina is grateful but has vowed to find a way to avenge her father. When handsome young artist Carlos proposes that Marina use her expertise to help the partisan cause against the Nazis, she has at last found her purpose. 

'In one daring and ingenious act, Marina risks her life to save a priceless painting from falling into Nazi hands and proves her worth to the partisans. But falling in love with Carlos was not part of her plan. When Carlos suddenly disappears, Marina’s dreams about building a life with him after the war turn to ash. She will have to travel halfway around the world to unravel the past – and find her future.'

Source : publisher's blurb