This compelling and ambitious novel is about the search for peace during a civil war and through its long, complicated aftermath.

Thirty years after his tour as a peacekeeper in Croatia in 1993, Francis is getting by — though only just — but when Viva arrives in Hamilton searching for the father she never knew, Francis’ world tilts, upsetting the burden of his wartime memories. This powerful and compassionate novel alternates between the voices of Francis and Viva, delving into the secrets we hold, the hurts we try to hide, and the simple human connections that bind us.

In war-torn Croatia, Francis meets Lorina, a local woman whose father had just been killed in the conflict; he does his best to protect her in the face of overwhelming resistance and absurdity as he struggles to work alongside the impossibly difficult Master Corporal Mackey. Toward the end of his tour, Francis bears witness firsthand to the devastating aftermath of ethnic cleansing — and then, when a careless moment results in a life-altering injury, he is sent home.

Viva first encounters Francis serving breakfast to the homeless outside the bar he runs — where soldiers like him come to try to forget what they’ve seen and what they?ve done. The young woman is angry and resentful, spoiling for confrontation wherever she turns, but in time finds that Francis is not a villain, but someone she just might need to have in her life.

The Peace Thieves has the courage to ask tough questions about the true costs of war, not only to the citizens of the country where the conflict occurs, but to the people who attempt to help and protect them.