Margaret of Cortona was an Italian penitent of the Third Order of St. Francis. She was born in Laviano, near Perugia, and died in Cortona. She was canonized in 1728. She is the patron saint of the falsely accused; hobos; homeless; insane; orphaned; mentally ill; midwives; penitents; single mothers; reformed prostitutes; third children; tramps. Saint Margaret of Cortona aroused Mauriac's interest because very little was known about her in France and because she succumbed to human love and even had a child. This interest distracted him in a time when the Germans were all over France and he followed her wherever she led him. This is the story of one such spiritual encounter.