Kaputt mundi

Kaputt Mundi is a novel set during World War II, specifically focusing on the events surrounding the landing at Anzio and the subsequent occupation by German troops. The protagonist, Martin Bora, is a young major in the German intelligence service who has been sent to Rome on a mission. The once beautiful city of "Caput Mundi" is now under siege from within as the Allies close in.

Bora's personal life is also marked by loss and tragedy. He has lost his left hand in an action against partisans, his brother died in Russia during the war, and his haughty wife Dikta is far away. In this grim atmosphere, a young German secretary working at the embassy is found dead after falling from her fourth-floor apartment window. The circumstances of her death are suspicious, as the keys to her locked apartment are missing and the police could use this case to their advantage.

As Bora investigates the case alongside Italian police inspector Sandro Guidi, who was called in by the chief of police to quickly close the case, more murders occur involving high-ranking Nazis, cardinals, and members of the Italian hierarchy. As Bora and Guidi delve deeper into the investigation, they find themselves on the brink of disaster, all while forging a friendship marked by discretion.