It's 1953, and Richard and his family believe deeply in American values and love of country. The United States has just executed an American couple convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. Senator Joe McCarthy wages a zealous hunt for "subversives" and communist sympathizers. Everyone is on edge in the standoff between communism and democracy, and with a father working for the FBI, Richard knows which side he stands on.

Yet when a boy named Vlad moves in down the street with his Czechoslovakian family, their bold ideas about art and politics bring everything into question for Richard. Although he's quickly drawn to Vlad's confidence, musical sensibilities, and passion for literature, Richard--longing to prove he's a good American--begins to suspect Vlad's family may be involved with the very ideas McCarthy is trying to root out. As the nation's paranoia spirals out of control, blurred lines between friend and foe could lead to a betrayal that destroys lives.

Saturated with the ominous atmosphere of the 1950s where paranoia, suspicion, loyalty oaths, blacklists, political profiling, hostility to foreigners, and guilt by association divide the nation, and punctuated with photos, news headlines, ads, and quotes from the era, this tense, breakneck novel breathes new life into a troubling chapter of our history.

"A tense, engrossing story that effectively captures the suspicion and paranoia that prevailed during American history's darkest chapters." --Kirkus Reviews