Author's Note

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The action, as in my previous books, takes place in the near future. The Princess and the Pope are not real people, but merely symbols of the forces they represent. My other characters, too, are make-believe (within a lifetime's experience), but the locations in which they operate are not. Those interested in Rome will be able to follow the action from the Piazza di Spagna to the coast and back again. They will be able to consider the fishing nets at Ostia and Fiumicino in a new and grimmer light. They will be able to dine in the restaurants I name, and observe the features I mention, for they are still there. And they will be able to follow, ruin by ruin, the chase in the Forum. The Metropolitana climax from the Colosseo underground station to EUR was documented after a dozen rides for that purpose and I lived in EUR for a year.

I would like to express thanks to my friends in the Vatican who, while advising me, have asked to remain namefess. I would also like to thank Ford of Britain for making it possible for me to re-visit Italy in the middle of this work, and so refresh my memory. The atmosphere of the Forum at midnight could not have been caught without the help of Italian guides who cut red tape and opened the necessary gates.

Cortina d'Ampezzo

November, 1965

Six Day WeekOpowieści tętniące życiem. Odkryj je teraz