This is the true but forgotten story of Ilio Barontini, a communist from Livorno whose life reads like a Graham Greene novel. In 1938, after becoming a hero in the Spanish Civil War’s Battle of Guadalajara, Ilio was recruited by French and British intelligence for a near-impossible mission: to organize the Ethiopian resistance against Mussolini’s fascist occupation. With Haile Selassie’s credentials hidden on silk handkerchiefs, he crossed Egypt and Sudan to reach the rebel-held territories. Once there, he built an army of over 250,000 guerrilla fighters, navigating the treacherous politics of local warlords while leading daring operations. In recognition of his leadership, the exiled emperor named him Vice-Emperor of Abyssinia, entrusting him with the imperial scepter. His resistance efforts became legendary...