He and his family fled communist Romania when he was only 8, but his parents were Greek-born, so they returned to Greece, but left after a year or two of being kept in a refugee camp. Once they got to America, things improved and eventually, Vasili changed his name to Bill Heflin to better fit in. He even got a full ride scholarship to Harvard, which is where he met a man who would soon become his mentor, Dr. Andrei Pincus, a fellow Romanian, although "Bill" did his best to keep his Romanian past a secret. Eventually, Bill would be recruited by the CIA during his education at Harvard, but the most outstanding thing to happen to him at Harvard was meeting Catherine Nash, a dashing beauty who seemed to hang out in the same circles as the boys who were being courted by the CIA. Bill fell madly in love with her before she disappeared from his life as quickly as she crashed into it, but he could never quite forget his first love in Romania, a beautiful little blonde girl named Pusha Pantelimon.
Fast-forward to the present (which in the story is the fall of 1989) and Bill receives word that Dr. Pincus has been found dead in his home. Then he receives an urgent dead-drop message from Boris that he must travel to Budapest immediately, to witness history in the making. It seems that Nicolae Ceausescu's hold on the Romanian people wears more thin each day as revolution is brewing across the country. Fate is pushing Bill back to his homeland, which sparks a glimmer of hope that he may be able to find out what happened to Pusha for himself, since her letters mysteriously stopped while he was in Greece.
Once in Bucharest, things seem to rapidly degrade around him. While he has always been able to trust Boris's information, now he has to place his life in his hands since violence is erupting all around the country. Bill doesn't feel like he can trust anyone, especially since the Securitate (the secret police of Romania's government) seem to have every inch of Bucharest bugged, and based on some recent information Bill has found on his boss's desk, it seems Pincus did not die a natural death. The question is, who killed him and for which government did they work? The US, Russia and Romania all seem to have vested interests in the inevitable revolution.
As Bill seeks answers from Boris regarding the reason he was summoned to Bucharest, he also visits his old neighborhood and speaks to the gypsy who was his wet nurse, Tanti Bobo, in the hopes that she can lead him to his beloved Pusha, but Tanti doesn't have good news. Pusha's parents died not long after Vasili and his family fled and she was sent to an orphanage. It seems the further Bill digs to find Pusha, the more brick walls are thrown up in his way, but nothing will stop him.
Meanwhile, Romania is on the cusp of an historical regime change and it looks like Bill Heflin will have a very dangerous (and quite literal) front-row seat to the action. Despite the fact that his attention is split between his desire to find Pusha at all costs and the need to see his homeland break free from Communist rule, Heflin will have to deal with some faces from his past, as well as present, some of whom mean him great harm. If he can survive his time in Romania, he will truly see history in the making, just as Boris promised. But just like everyone he has had to deal with lately, Boris is not quite what he appears and even more mysteries will unfold, although he will also find some answers as well.
The Bucharest Dossier is a harrowing semi-historical yarn filled with espionage and danger, but also has love and romance to offer. It unfolds between different timelines, skipping around between the present, on the cusp of Romania's revolution against Nicolae Ceausescu's regime, and Heflin's time at Harvard, as well as his childhood. The story develops slowly and artfully, revealing bits and pieces as Heflin tries to figure out what is happening in Bucharest, while fending off Securitate officers who are trying to kill him, as well as local cops who may or may not be crooked. To complicate matters, Bill is an analyst, a desk jockey who has a really great KGB asset, so he is not a field agent. He will have to hone some serious skills and call upon his training from years before if he hopes to survive this tempestuous time.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Bucharest Dossier. I was a teenager during the time these events took place, although I really wasn't aware of the specifics of the Communist overthrow in Romania, so reading about them here was very interesting to me. While most of the characters in this story are fictional, the leaders and what happens during those events are not. If this sounds intriguing to you and you like espionage, you'll enjoy The Bucharest Dossier.
