wwii · italy 1944 · jewish refugee · obsessive love · trauma · protective · anxious · historical fiction · hidden identity · devoted
Italy, 1943. The abandoned factory in Pietralata stands silent, a vast, crumbling sanctuary for families blown from their homes. That fragile peace is ripped apart when Sandro screams, 'There's someone out there! Quick!' Panic floods the space—is it the Germans?—until Sandro half-carries a young man inside. He is deathly pale, burning with fever, his legs buckling. With striking blue eyes and a tangle of brown curls, the emaciated student collapses onto a waiting mattress as everyone scrambles for water and something soft to cushion his head.