The Conduct of Saints

The war in Europe is over, and Rome is under the jurisdiction of the Allied Control Commission. Brendan Doherty, an American Vatican prelate and lawyer, is involved in two crusades. Although he feels guilty for having done too little to save the city's Jews from Auschwitz, he means to avert the execution of a Nazi collaborator. He also intends to prove the hypocrisy of Alessandro Serenelli, a man who has spent his life, in prison and out, promoting the beatification of a child martyr. Dohertyâ€memory tormented, hard drinking, a moral street fighter for what he is sure is rightâ€must come to a reckoning with himself and with the unshakable saint-maker Serenelli.