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A dramatic true story of the first Soviet female diplomat that decided to remain in Washington rather than return to USSR.

In August 1978 the wife of a first secretary at the Soviet embassy defected to the United States with her two young children, seeking opportunity for them all to control their own lives. For seven years she lived under the assumed name of Alexandra Costa until the publicized return of defector Vitaly Yurchenko prompted her to talk about the way defectors are treated by the CIA.