When Eagles Cry

The novel is based, in part, on the true story of Tonin and a fictitious person, Mark. Set against the harsh backdrop of 1950s communist Albania, this story follows the diverging lives of two childhood friends. Their stories take radically different paths under the ruthless and unimaginable cruelty of Enver Hoxha's communist Albania. When Tonin escapes into exile in search of freedom, Mark is captured and condemned to decades in the regime's most brutal prisons and labor camps. Through it all, both men carry the weight of their choices. While one is plagued by guilt in America, the other is haunted by casting blame, when in pain, in Albania. As young men, Tonin and Mark share dreams of freedom, family, and a future beyond the mountains that border them in their village, Iballe. But when the communist regime intensifies its grip, their friendship is torn apart. Tonin, with his 5 younger siblings and his father, makes a daring escape through the border, first into Yugoslavia as political refugees, where his father dies under mysterious circumstances, then into Italy, and eventually into the United States. Although he is aware of the communist cruelty in Albania, when he learns about Mark, Tonin is haunted by guilt over the friend he left behind. After Tonin's escape, Mark is captured and branded an enemy of the state, simply because he was seen with Tonin one night before Tonin ran into exile. He is sentenced to years of imprisonment in Albania's harshest prisons and labor camps. There, he endures torture and starvation. The story comes full circle during the dying days of the communist regime, when he and Mark reunite at last in the enduring human need for reconciliation.