Venice, 1943. How much will she risk to save the ones she loves? Evelina has already lost so much: her sons are away fighting, her husband is dead, and most of her friends have fled the little valley that once felt like home. Her heart breaks in two once more when she receives a desperate handwritten note from her best friend Talia, a devoted Jewish schoolteacher in Venice: Help me.

Evelina rushes to Talia’s aid but finds an empty house and a swastika painted on the door. Then she hears a child crying and uncovers a little boy, with big brown eyes, hiding in the laundry chute. He tells her that his teacher, Talia, promised to come back for him but then the Germans arrived. Where is her dear friend? The Nazis are rounding up Jewish children, so Evelina hides the boy in her parents’ beautiful house on the grand canal. Her mother and father are reluctant to help, but as they read to him every evening she sees their hearts begin to open. Too many innocents have already been lost to this war.

Evelina hears a whisper that nuns are hiding Jewish people, so every day she visits as many churches as she can. When Evelina finally uncovers Talia hiding in a roof, they are overjoyed to see each other. But as they descend a perilous wooden ladder, a Nazi officer appears, holding a gun. Certain that his icy blue eyes will be the last thing she sees, Evelina clutches her friend’s hand tightly, terrified in the city that it supposed to be their home.

With the Germans on their trail, Evelina cannot return to her parents’ house. Can she reunite her beloved friend with the little boy they both desperately want to keep safe? And will she find a way to get out of the city before it’s too late? From bestselling author Ella Carey comes an utterly heartbreaking and gripping World War Two historical novel that will transport you to the canals of Venice and remind you to always hold onto hope. Fans of Kathryn Hughes, Fiona Valpy and Victoria Hislop will be totally enchanted.