It is June 1940 and fifteen-year-old Olivia Baldini's idyllic English life is shattered as Britain declares war on Italy. With hyperthymesia, Olivia possesses an extraordinary ability to recall information with vivid detail, a gift that makes her invaluable to Churchill's secret sabotage army, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Trained in nursing, coding, and espionage, Olivia is dispatched behind enemy lines in Italy, aiding partisans and resistance fighters.

Nino Fabris, dreaming of world travel with the Merchant Marines, is thrust into the war when his ship is conscripted. Captured in North Africa and sent to a POW camp in Kenya, Nino seizes a chance for freedom by joining the SOE. Sent to London for training, he briefly crosses paths with Olivia, igniting a spark that persists even as he is deployed to Cairo.

In the chaos of war, Olivia and Nino's paths intertwine, leading them through perilous missions and clandestine operations. Despite having loved ones waiting back home, the undeniable connection between them grows amidst the dangers they face. Together, they navigate the treacherous landscape of war, where survival is uncertain and every memory could be their last. The Cipher is a gripping tale of love, resilience, and the power of the truth -- and who you trust with it.

Genni Gunn is an author, musician and translator. Born in Trieste, she came to Canada as a child. She has published thirteen books: three novels -- Solitaria (longlisted for the Giller Prize 2011), Tracing Iris (made into a film, The Riverbank), and Thrice Upon a Time (finalist for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize); three short story collections -- Permanent Tourists, Hungers and On the Road; three poetry collections -- Accidents, Faceless and Mating in Captivity (finalist for the Gerald Lampert Award), and a collection of personal essays, TRACKS: Journeys in Time and Place. As well, she has translated from Italian three collections of poems by two renowned Italian authors: Devour Me Too (finalist for the John Glassco Translation Prize) and Traveling in the Gait of a Fox (finalist for the Premio Internazionale Diego Valeri for Literary Translation) by Dacia Maraini, and Text Me by Corrado Calabro. Two of Gunn's books have been translated into Italian and Dutch.

As well as books, she has written an opera libretto, Alternate Visions, produced by Chants Libres in 2007 (music by John Oliver), and projected in a simulcast at The Western Front in Vancouver; her poem, "Hot Summer Nights" has been turned into classical vocal music by John Oliver, and performed internationally. Before she turned to writing full-time, Gunn toured Canada extensively with a variety of bands (bass guitar, piano and vocals). Since then, she has performed at hundreds of readings and writers' festivals. Gunn has a B.F.A. and an M.F.A. from the University of British Columbia. She lives in Vancouver.

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