Motivated by severe food-rationing imposed on his Italian village in the rugged Abruzzo region, a fifteen-year-old boy hikes to a nearby town where a family takes him in. He soon discovers the family, disillusioned by the Fascist government, is also sheltering two fugitive British Army soldiers who have escaped a nearby prisoner-of war camp. Francesco takes on the challenge to reunite the soldiers with the British Eighth Army advancing north along the Adriatic, risking discovery in dangerous encounters with German soldiers. On his journey, boy becomes transformed by the brutality of war, the plight of residents and refugees and an unexpected personal tragedy; yet he is rescued by the renewal of a friendship and his resilience of sprit. Based on a true life event, the story is an immersive experience of era and geography for WW II military and historical fiction fans.