Saving Cesena

Only Sergeant William Godwin knows just how tense is the situation in Cesena.Ever since the multi-national army of His Holiness Pope Gregory XI retreated to the small eastern Italian city to spend the winter, relations between soldiers and citizens have been eroding, so that by February 1377 all trust is gone.Food is scarce and expensive, and the smell of defeat hangs in the frigid air. As the intelligence agent for the famous White Company, Godwin is responsible for keeping his captain, the English condottiere John Hawkwood, apprised of the local mood, yet his position has become uncertain.Then, a night of violence escalates into a confrontation that might lead to the deaths of thousands.Sergeant Godwin is a man of faith and fidelity, but he is not so blinded by strict devotion that he cannot see that he must make a choice. Should he obey the pope's man in Italy and aid in the senseless ruin of the city? Would he be better served by standing by his now distant companion-in-arms, John Hawkwood, the man who paid him and once appreciated his talents? Or should he take the most selfish path and abandon all but the widow Maria, the person the most worthy of his trust?