The ghosts of Olesko

"When the hymn swells heavily through the room, it is as if I am sleeping and only dreaming all that has happened since it happened; the war, the disgrace. But still, through it all I see the compassionate eyes of the Madonna and the gleam in her golden hair, and sometimes I think that I have seen a little of that compassion in a human being." The Great War is ending . A band of battle-worn soldiers flee across a burning Ukraine, riding at full speed towards the west from the collapsing Eastern Front. They carry a stolen icon-the mysterious Blue Madonna, and hold a secret that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Years later the Madonna resurfaces-this time in a quiet villa outside Oslo. Soon after, one of the men who once escaped Olesko is found dead beneath her gaze.