The year is 1985. East Germany is in the grip of communism. Magda, a brilliant but disillusioned young linguist, is desperate to flee to the West. When a black market deal brings her into contact with Robert, a Scottish research student at Leipzig University, she conceives a plan to escape. Robert stumbles into a complex world of shifting half-truths - one that will undo them both. More than a decade later, Robert returns to post-communist Leipzig in search of answers. Can he track Magda down? And will the past give up its secrets?
A fictional, but soundly fact-based look at life behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany during the Cold War. Stasi files show 100,000 East Germans were used to spy on each other, reporting all manner of suspicious activity, and things as mundane having a West German pudding in the pantry! It must have been impossible to trust anyone.
Robert is a Scottish researcher doing research in Leipzig. Magda is a brilliant translator, who is involved with charismatic Marek. A love triangle develops while the spies watch. Does Magda love Robert or is she using him?
A stark look at the difficulty of life in East Germany during the cold war. Recommended.
