Throughout the Third Reich, millions of Germans pledged allegiance to Adolf Hitler. In the Bavarian village of Schwarzenfeld, they followed an American citizen.

Fr. Viktor Koch, C.P., has quietly ministered to the people of Schwarzenfeld throughout the war. In a time of oppression, he has struggled to keep their faith alive, despite the watchful eyes of Nazi authorities.

As he peacefully resists efforts to end his missionary work, Fr. Viktor wrestles with his heritage and identity. Why does he feel rooted in Germany? Is he following a higher calling or bound by the mystical forces of his ancestry? Awakened to the tyranny of Nazi rule, his followers risk prison to express their dissent. Relying upon his ingenuity to protect them, Fr. Viktor finds a grudging ally in a Nazi charity worker who confiscated his monastery.

In April 1945, American liberators arrive in Schwarzenfeld and make a gruesome discovery: the SS have left a mass grave of concentration camp victims on the village’s border. Enraged by the sight, the American commander holds the town responsible. He issues a chilling ultimatum—the villagers must dig up and properly bury each of the 140 corpses within 24 hours, or every German man in town will be executed.

With time running out, Fr. Viktor must perform a miracle. He must convince his countrymen that his followers are not the enemy. Their humanity is still intact. And most of all, they are innocent.

Joanna Teljeur