Oliver has fallen in love for the first time. Alisa, a schoolteacher in the Balkan country he is visiting through the U.S. State Department, has captivated him. As he speaks with her through his snarky translator, Liebert, he feels at once polite, enamored, and content for the first time in decades. Later, his pleas to Liebert win him another visit with Alisa, during which he reflects on his privilege as an American as he learns about her and her country's culture. The trio had many differences, making their relationship complex. To Oliver, freedom is a dynamic, politically slippery ideal. To the Alisa, it is an absolute standard. Later that night, Oliver has a strange dream. Alongside Liebert and Alisa, he finds himself running in terror through the country's bombed-out Old City. When they meet cripples, criminals, and police, Oliver's terror reaches a fever pitch and the dream ends. He immediately has Liebert arrange more time with Alisa, but the next day, a new translator has taken his place. Oliver's last visit with Alisa, mediated by the latter, feels coarse and crushingly disappointing. Distraught, Oliver leaves for the airport. What, he despairs, will he do for the rest of his life?