This memoir investigates the survival strategies and human connections formed during the author's imprisonment and subsequent escape from an Italian prisoner-of-war camp during the Second World War. Eric Newby, a British soldier captured in 1943, provides a firsthand account of the chaotic period following the Italian armistice. He details the logistical challenges of evading capture in the rugged Apennine Mountains while relying on the assistance of local Italian civilians who risked their lives to shelter him.

Critics and historians frequently cite this work as a significant contribution to the literature of wartime escape narratives due to its observational clarity and lack of melodrama. Readers often note the balance between the tension of the escape and the author's dry, understated prose style.