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A British intelligence officer on loan to the American Fifth Army, Norman Lewis landed at Paestum with the Allies and soon found himself in Naples heading up the effort to root out collaborators--a thankless task that entailed sifting through masses of denunciations, most inspired by personal vendettas going back decades. Meanwhile, former Fascists and powerful crime bosses ingratiated themselves with the occupying forces and continued as before.

All of this serves as the background to Lewis's real story, which is the relationships he formed with the people of Naples and some of the surrounding towns. Married to a Sicilian, he spoke Italian and was sensitive to cultural nuances. He came away from his year living among the Italians "converted" to their way of living and loving:

. . .were I given the chance to be born again and to choose the place of my birth Italy would be the country of my choice.

Notwithstanding the appalling poverty and destruction he witnessed, Lewis saw the dignity and generosity of the Italians and seems to have carried the experience in his heart as he journeyed to other war-torn spots. He had a sharp eye for hypocrisy and called out injustice when he encountered it, but he never failed to see the decency in people. One comes away from his work with knowledge, sadness, and hope.