The Enemy at the Gate

Vienna in the second decade of the fifteenth century stood like a faltering bulwark against the onslaught of the Turkish conquerors. In this story of Michael, an apprentice gunsmith, the extremity of Christian Europe's plight seems concentrated in his resolve to protect his world from the omnipotent Turks. Driven into hiding both from the invaders and from his own people, Michael desperately fights his battle for Christianity within the network of tunnels so important strategically to both sides. And his skill as a gunsmith ultimately transforms Vienna into a symbol of Christian fortitude.