The Time of No One

In this story built around historical events, an American priest arrives in Rome in 1943 and finds the city in turmoil. The prime minister has been exiled, the king has fled the country and Rome's native son, Pope Pius XII, is trying to stay out of the fray of World War II as German soldiers pour into the city, threatening the pontiff and rounding up Jews. Without leadership, people in Rome are left on their own. Romans called this period "Il tempo dal nessuno," or "The time of no one." How people will respond determines Rome's future, and their personal legacies.

Father Wliiam Dunn found out he’d be going to Rome when the letter arrived in the afternoon post. Mrs. McCormack, the housekeeper for the rectory, took it from the mailbox with the others and brought them inside to sort. She checked the stamp. It had a picture of a man with woman-like hair and Latin words. The stamp read Poste Vaticane across the top. She took that letter from the pile. She wasn’t happy to see it, but it shouldn’t be left with the rest.

And so Father Dunn leaves his home parish and comes to Rome. But he soon realizes that under German occupation, things he held fast and true are being shaken loose. Things he took for granted, things that he believed in, weren't there any more. He and those around him are forced to redefine their beliefs if they are to survive.