A gripping thriller based on true story of an Irish priest in the Vatican who smuggled victims of the Nazis out of Italy under the nose of his SS officer nemesis. From the bestselling and prizewinning author of Shadowplay.

When the Nazis take Rome, thousands go into hiding. One priest will risk everything to save them.

September 1943: Nazi forces occupy Rome. SS officer Paul Hauptmann rules with terror. An Irish priest, Hugh O'Flaherty, dedicates himself to helping people escape. In his home in the Vatican - a neutral, independent country inside Rome - he gathers a team to set up an Escape Line.

But Hauptmann's net begins closing in and the need for a terrifyingly audacious mission grows critical. By Christmas, it's too late to turn back.

Based on a true story, My Father's House is a powerful thriller from a master of historical fiction.

*THE NUMBER ONE IRISH BESTSELLER*

'Breathtakingly good writing - O'Connor puts you right there, centre stage in the story and never lets you go' Peter James

'O'Connor is on stellar form with this ensemble thriller...an expert storyteller' Daily Mail

'A masterwork... so urgent, so incredibly alive... A searing and beautiful example of storytelling's infinite importance' Donal Ryan

'Impressive and pleasurable...evokes a city in peril with wonderful vitality' Financial Times

'A literary thriller of the highest order...his razor-sharp dialogue is to be savoured, and he employs dark humour to great effect. The plot twists keep on coming' Observer

*The Ghosts of Rome, the next gripping book in Joseph O’Connor’s THE ESCAPE LINE TRILOGY, is available to pre-order now! Out January 2025.*

Longlisted for The Dublin Literary Award 2024
Longlisted for The Walter Scott Prize for Fiction 2024