I thought I had read North From Rome before, back in High School, but I didn't remember anything of the plot or the characters. I may have only borrowed it from the library, but I doubt I read it.

Bill Lammiter, a Playwright, has followed his girlfriend to Rome, in the end breaking up with her. He has decided to leave Rome, when he hears a woman screaming outside his hotel window. He suddenly is involved in an international situation that he didn't bargain for.