Salonika, 1940. Costa Zannis, a senior police official with access to the city’s diplomatic and criminal networks, works amid the uncertainty created by Italy’s attack on Greece. Reports that Germany may intervene turn the port into a meeting place for agents, refugees, smugglers and officials preparing for a wider Balkan war.
Zannis helps construct an escape route for Jews seeking to leave Germany, moving them through southeastern Europe toward neutral Turkey while also tracking hostile intelligence activity. The novel combines the Greco-Italian conflict with the increasingly urgent work of rescue, using Salonika’s multilingual society as both a refuge and a vulnerable strategic crossroads.
Jacqueline Winspear
20 books
James R. Benn
26 books