In the summer of 1977, seventeen-year-old Mona Manoliu falls in love with
Mihai, a mysterious boy who lives in the romantic mountain city where she
spends her summers. She can think of nothing and no one else. But life
under Nicolae Ceausescu is difficult. Hunger, paranoia and fear infect
everyone. One day Mona sees Mihai wearing the black leather jacket favoured
by the secret police is it possible he is one of them? As food shortages
worsen and more of her loved ones disappear, Mona comes to understand that
she must leave Romania. She escapes in secret narrowly avoiding the police
through Yugoslavia to Italy, and finally to Chicago. But she leaves without
saying a final goodbye to Mihai. And though she struggles to bury her
longing for the past she finds herself compelled to return, determined to
learn the truth about her one great love. An extraordinary debut, Train to
Trieste is a beautiful, powerful and intriguing love story that moves from
passionate infatuation to profound understanding.