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Cristian Florescu gets in trouble.
After class one day, Cristian is called into the school office to talk to an agent, or "spy", for an interrogation. The agent tells him that he was trafficking a foreign currency into Romania. Cristian knew this US dollar was planted there but he didn't argue. The agent said to him that the only way he could get out of punishment was informing on a US reporter. He was also promised medicine for his grandfather with leukemia. -
Cristian gets close with his classmate Lilliana
Cristian meets a girl he was acquainted with on his way home from school one day. They learn that they live in apartment buildings just across the street from one another and start walking home after school together. Cristian gains a crush on Lilliana. He writes about her in his journal, which he keeps his secrets, and his thoughts about Romania. -
Cristian gets mad at his best friend.
Cristian realized that someone had to have reported him to the Securitate- the Romanian secret spying service—and decided it must have been his best friend Luca, who was the only person he told about the dollar he found one day in his stamp collection. He started to avoid Luca as much as possible and ended up punching him. -
Cristian spies on an American family.
Cristian meets the American father and son whom his mother does housekeeping for. The son was about his age and Cristian decides he will do this only to treat his sick grandpa. -
Cristian visits the American Library
Cristian visits an American library with Dan, the boy in which he was spying on, because he was encouraged to by a Securitate agent that he referred to as "Agent Paddle Hands". At the library, he learns that surrounding countries have been freed from communism, while Romania still hasn't. Dan ripped an article about an American singer out of a magazine and gifted it to Cristian. -
Dan leaves Romania
Cristian visits the American library for the second time, and Dan informs him that they will no longer be ambassadors in Romania. Cristian was distressed but decided this would be his last chance to inform Mr. Can Dorn (Dan's father) about the truth in Romania. Cristian took his notebook that he kept his private thoughts in and left it on the desk in the Van Dorn's apartment, disguising it with a newspaper and addressing it to the father. -
Bunu dies
Cristian discovers that the Securitate has been taking Bunu in for questioning and giving him poisoned coffee. He realized that Bunu did not have natural leukemia but was being gradually poisoned. Later, Cristian went into his home to find Bunu dead, but not from cancer. The securitate had beaten him to death. Cristian wrote "This is what they do to philosophers" in his notebook. -
Cici is an informer
With Bunu gone, Cristian became bored. He talked to a friend and made a deal to buy American articles about Romania in exchange for American currency. He decided to check inside his sister's locked box and found American money, cigarettes, and other things hard to obtain/ illegal in Romania. He realized if it wasn't Luca who told the Securitate about the dollar in his stamp book, Cici must've placed it there to get him to be an informer. -
Riot in Timisoara
While listening to Radio Free Europe (a radio station focused on gaining independence from communism), Cristian hears about a Riot in a Romanian town called Timisoara. He realized that Romania was finally getting the attention it needed, and the residents were fighting for freedom. From this, he had gained a sense of optimism that he hadn't had before. -
Riot in Bucharest
Luca and Christian were informed that Romania's communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu was coming to the town square to quell the fear of residents. There were thousands of people there, and when he started to speak the residents chanted "Timisoara!". Law enforcement came and put an end to it. Luca was shot in the arm and the next thing Christian knew, he woke up in a jail-like building with hundreds of other people. -
Cristian is Imprisoned
After being forced into a large van with other children, Cristian and Lilliana were transported to a building where they were beaten and starved. They yelled their names in hopes that someone who would eventually be free would contact their families. Guards took them and the rest of the children into a room. The guards forced them to kiss portraits of Ceausescu and his wife to apologize, Cristian and Lilliana decided that this was probably their last opportunity, so they kissed as well. -
Cristian escapes
After being forced to clean bathrooms, the children were all transported to another building; A juvenile jail. Lilliana told Cristian to run away and get help, she loosened the ropes around his wrists and he hesitantly snuck away. After he found the nearby U.S. Embassy he requested to see Mr. Van Dorn but was denied access. He found someone willing to give him a ride on their bike back to his apartment block. -
Cristian's journal is acknowledged
Lilliana comes to Cristian's house, still not being able to find her parents. They listen to Radio Free Europe and find out that Cristian's journal was found. The radio announcer reads a poem unveiling the truth about Romania. -
Ceausescu is executed
The Ceusescu's had a trial. They were accused and found guilty of genocide, they were shot and killed by a firing team. Cristian didn't know how it all happened so fast, how, in one moment, they were trapped and, in the next, they were free. -
Romania is finally free
Cristian and Lilliana shared Christmas gifts with one another, celebrating Romania's freedom. Although Romania wasn't completely free of communism, residents could finally emigrate. Luca emigrated to England with his family, and Cristian and Lilliana stayed in Romania as adults.