Baie-Comeau, 1940 — Alfred Côté is astounded: painter Guido Nincheri has just been arrested right in front of him. 

Côté is a plumber who travelled to Baie-Comeau in search of work and he has been helping the master create the décor for Sainte-Amélie Church for several months now. He was the one who had to climb the scaffolding to where the artist was hard at work to inform him when a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer turned up at the church. Before agreeing to follow the policeman, Nincheri had insisted on giving his assistant instructions to make sure he cleaned his brushes properly.

Alfred Côté cannot understand what this short, frail yet distinguished artist could possibly be accused of. What in the world about this man could have raised suspicion?

The answer lay in the décor of the Notre-Dame-de-la-Défense Church in Montreal, which Nincheri had created just a few years earlier. When Italy allied itself with Nazi Germany during the Second World War, the Italian-Canadian artist had been suspected of supporting fascism on account of a fresco he’d painted. Nincheri had initially proposed a decorating scheme for the church vault that was in line with his customary style. However, at the insistence of the patrons who commissioned the work, and despite his misgivings, he had eventually added a portrait of Benito Mussolini surrounded by other leading figures of Italian fascism to the original composition.

While awaiting news, Côté got down to work, cleaning the brushes and putting away the cartoons. Everything had to be ready for when the master returned, which he hoped would be soon. The police officer, however, had provided very few details…