Book: ‘Rossio Square N.°59’ by Jeannine J. Maia – Editor’s Note
Posted on 20 March 2020.
April 1941: After fleeing wartime France, 17-year-old Claire arrives at Rossio train station in Lisbon. She immediately crosses paths – in the most inauspicious of ways – with Antonio, a young Portuguese waiter, aspiring artist and, when necessary, pickpocket.
The Chave d’Ouro café where Antonio works is a hotspot for the plotters and spies flocking to the Portuguese capital during WWII, and he soon becomes involved in a risky anti-Nazi sabotage operation. While Claire waits in vain for her family and the ship they are supposed to take to the United States, she begins a search for two refugee children who were separated by force from their parents – and who carry a dangerous secret.