Veno, Carl A. Pilgrims of War: a Love Story. Fedeli Publishing Inc., 2011. (a novel) Beautiful Italian doctor Magdalena Russo is headed to a medical conference when the ship she’s on is seized at the Panama Canal. World War II is raging, and the passengers aboard the Italian ship are deemed a threat to the United States. Magdalena and the other passengers are sent to Ellis Island where they are interrogated and detained.