Set in Italy during the dramatic finale of World War II, this novel by the bestselling author of The Sparrow and Children of God is both ambitious and engrossing. It is September 8, 1943, and fourteen-year-old Claudette Blum is learning Italian with a suitcase in her hand. She and her father are among the thousands of Jewish refugees scrambling over the Alps toward Italy, where they hope to be safe at last, now that the Italians have broken with Germany and made a separate peace with the Allies.

The Blums will soon discover that Italy is anything but peaceful, as it becomes an open battleground among the Nazis, the Allies, resistance fighters, Jews in hiding, and ordinary Italian civilians trying to survive. Through the lives of a handful of fascinating characters—a charismatic Italian Resistance leader, a priest, an Italian rabbi’s family, a disillusioned German doctor—Mary Doria Russell tells the little-known story of the vast underground effort by Italian citizens who saved the lives of 43,000 Jews during the final phase of World War II.

A Thread of Grace puts a human face on history, weaving a tale of courage and resilience that is both hauntingly beautiful and utterly unforgettable. This captivating story of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary times is full of drama, warmth, nobility, and hope.