Book excerpt: Matty Matthews has been to the town of Forza d’Aguil before. Stationed there with a small group of soldiers during WWII, it was here that Matty fell in love with Rosanna. It was a sweet, short-lived affair until the soldiers unexpectedly got orders to pull out. Matty never got to say goodbye. Now he’s back in Sicily, drawn to the mountain town after all these years. But the citizens of Forza d’Aguil are easy to offend, and when Matty inadvertently crosses Pino, the Mafioso sabotages his leaving. Trapped in Forza d’Aguil, hemmed in on all sides by the oppression of the town and its silent citizens, he’s stuck in the middle of Mafia country with no way out. He has only the help of the innkeeper Vinciguerra, a man he can’t understand, and the passion of the sweet Sophia. Or is she part of the sinister web, too?