1

Tatiana and Alexander keep in touch via letters over the following weeks. Tatiana sometimes finds it hard to write because she is so busy at the hospital.

2

When the International Red Cross comes to the hospital in December, Tatiana makes meets an American doctor, Matthew Sayers. They bond over their work and become friends.

3

Tatiana and Alexander continue writing letters. They encourage each other throughout their time apart.

1

In January 1943, Alexander participates in Operation Spark, Stalin’s effort “to break the German blockade” (708) in Leningrad. Throughout the conflict, Alexander feels desperate to find Tatiana and ensure she is okay. Meanwhile, he fights tirelessly with his comrades. During the attack, he tries saving Marazov when he is shot. A medic appears on the ice. Alexander is shocked to discover he is American. The man gets hit, too, but Alexander races to his rescue. He gets hit while delivering the doctor from the battle.

2

After Alexander brings the wounded doctor to the field hospital, he loses consciousness. He wakes up disoriented, discovering he has been unconscious for four weeks. The American doctor is there and introduces himself as Dr. Matthew Sayers. He tells Alexander about a nurse who donated her blood to him to keep him alive. Alexander insists on seeing her.

3

Alexander wakes up to find Tatiana by his side. She heard all about his valor in battle and tells him how she helped save him and how he helped save Sayers.

4

Tatiana returns to Alexander’s side the next day. Then Stepanov arrives and presents Alexander with another medal for heroism, promoting him to Major. He also announces that they successfully got through the blockade. Afterwards, Alexander and Tatiana talk in private. Alexander laments that Tatiana isn’t his regular nurse. She is keeping her distance because Dimitri is around and they don’t want him to know they’re married. Still, she assures Alexander they will be safe and free soon enough. She has concocted a plan with Sayers’s help. Because they both helped save his life, he has agreed to smuggle her and Alexander across the border into Finland, and to help them get to America. She also stole a deceased Finnish pilot’s uniform, which Alexander can wear when they leave. A speechless Alexander rejoices at Tatiana’s brilliance.

5

Alexander and Sayers share a private conversation in English wherein Sayers promises to do anything to repay Alexander. Alexander urges him to follow Tatiana’s instructions. Later, another nurse named tells Alexander about Tatiana’s heroic nursing efforts at the hospital. A moved Alexander tells Tatiana how much he loves her when she visits him later that night.

6

The next morning, Alexander wakes to find Tatiana by his bedside. They talk about their escape plans and all Tatiana has overcome these past months. Alexander is shocked when she reveals she is pregnant. After she leaves, Alexander lies in bed worrying about his wife and their baby. He still fears the NKVD will detect who he is and apprehend him at the border. He fears too that he will be discovered as an American and brought in for questioning before they can escape. The next day, he urges Tatiana to have an abortion given their tenuous circumstances. When she protests, Alexander assures her abortions are normal and many people have them, including Dasha. This is news to Tatiana. Still, she insists the baby is their destiny and she won’t give it up. They discuss their fateful meeting and deep love for each other.

7

Alexander and Tatiana continue planning their trip as Alexander’s condition improves. Then one day, Dimitri discovers Alexander at the hospital and confronts him. Alexander finds himself revealing that he and Tatiana are married. He tells Tatiana later that night, now suggesting that she go to America without him. He is afraid she will be killed for being an American’s wife. They kiss and profess their love, promising to survive for each other.

The next day, Dimitri confronts Alexander again. This time, he declares that he knows of Alexander and Tatiana’s plan to desert with Sayers. Alexander feigns ignorance, but to no avail. Dimitri insists Alexander take him along. Later, with Tatiana present, Dimitri again insists they include him in their plans. Tatiana gives in. Alone with Alexander, the couple agrees they have no choice.

A day later, Dimitri approaches Alexander again. This time, he insists they leave Tatiana behind because she will jeopardize their escape. Alexander insists he won’t leave without her and accuses Dimitri of being selfish. The argument intensifies until Alexander grabs Dimitri, breaking his wrist. Sayers appears, breaking up the fight. Afterwards, Alexander realizes he wanted to kill Dimitri.

The next day, Stepanov visits Alexander to warn him that the NKVD plans to interrogate him. Stepanov insists their suspicions are unfounded and reassures Alexander. Alexander thanks Stepanov but asks for his help protecting Tatiana. When Sayers visits Alexander afterwards, Alexander also begs for his help saving Tatiana’s life. He explains that the NKVD are going to take him away tomorrow and Sayers must deliver Tatiana should they try capturing her, too. He doesn’t want Tatiana to know the NKVD took him, convinced she wouldn’t leave for America. Alexander proposes an alternate plan, which Sayers reluctantly accepts.

Tatiana comes to see Alexander. He informs her the army is going to take him to Volkhov tomorrow to honor him for his valor. He promises he won’t be away long. Before parting ways, Alexander tells Tatiana to remember the name Orbeli. Tatiana leaves before responding, as a frantic Sayers is calling for her.

1

In the morning, Tatiana is shocked to find Alexander’s bed occupied by another soldier and all her husband’s things missing. She demands that Sayers tell her the truth. Sayers regrets to inform her that the truck which took Alexander to Volkhov was bombed, killing Alexander. A shocked Tatiana vomits. Stepanov comes and delivers the same news to Tatiana. Overcome by sorrow, Tatiana feels hopeless when Sayers insists they go through with their plan to flee. However, they still must take Dimitri along.

On the Red Cross vehicle with Sayers and Dimitri, Tatiana demands that Dimitri never talk to her again. Meanwhile, she practices her English with Sayers, asking him about Orbeli. At the border, the soldiers interrogate the group, skeptical that Dimitri is a Finn. They demand he get out of the truck and immediately recognize him for who he is. Terrified, Dimitri tells the soldiers Tatiana isn’t American. In English, Tatiana assures them she is indeed Jane Barrington, reminding them they can’t trust Dimitri. A furious Dimitri opens fire at the group, hitting the NKVD soldiers and Sayers. The NKVD shoot back, killing Dimitri. Tatiana narrowly survives, losing consciousness herself. When she wakes up, there is no one around. She examines the wreckage, barely able to move. She muses on how fast that all happened and recalls how quickly Sayers and Alexander were hit on the ice. Then Sayers moans. She is shocked to discover he is alive. She scrounges around the truck for supplies to help him. Then she restarts the vacated Finnish truck with some effort, struggling to transfer Sayers to the new vehicle. Afterwards, she drives across the border, driving west until she reaches Helsinki. She gets Sayers to a hospital, but he dies shortly thereafter.

Afterwards, Tatiana meets Sayers’s contact, Sam Leavitt. He informs her it will be difficult to cross the Baltic and insists she’ll have to wait in Helsinki for a new passport for at least a month. Fearing the NKVD will find her, she makes a different plan. She spots some Red Cross trucks near the harbor, shows them her badge, and asks for a ride to Stockholm. She makes it to the city, where she ends up staying for two months before she gets new papers. While there, she remembers all of her and Alexander’s plans, still musing on the name Orbeli and its meaning.

Finally, Tatiana makes her harrowing journey across the ocean. When she arrives in New York, American soldiers realize she is about to give birth and is sick with TB. They take her to the Ellis Island hospital before sending her through immigration. She gives birth to a baby boy, who she names Anthony Alexander. She is relieved he is an American citizen. She drifts in and out of sleep, remembering Alexander.