<em>Fugitive Colors</em> is a gripping debut novel of an artist's indomitable vengeance after World War II. Julian Klein, a young American artist, rebels against his religious upbringing and is eager for the artistic freedom of 1930s Paris. He flees Chicago only to find himself consumed by a world in which a paintbrush is far more lethal than a gun. An artist turned spy, Julian at the same time competes with jealous inferior artists who feverishly attempt to destroy those with true talent. Love, friendship, betrayal, and passion, as Julian learns, are never black and white. Like an abstract painting, Julian's turbulent journey is emotionally charged as he tries to save his friends and salvage some of the most beloved pieces of modern art—including his own.<br /><p>The story of Julian and his friends' artistic endeavors is inspired by a harrowing and little-known historical truth: the official Nazi exhibition of "Degenerate Art," which opened in Munich on July 19, 1937, one day after the first Great German Art Exhibition. Lisa Barr's unrelenting prose brings to life artists who were made to endure miserable oppression—sometimes death—under the brutal Nazi regime. This is a novel of suspense, love, mystery, and, above all, the power of art.</p>