Traveling Short Distances

A chiaroscuro of the human homing instinct, often insistent, seldom placated. The story takes us to the mid nineteen-eighties, before the advent of cell phones. Here even the telephone plays a supporting role, the instrument of friendship, revelation, and deceit. Europe's cities and their seasons set the backdrop for a tale of longing, doubt, and quests in midstream. "No one pities diplomats," says Ian Howlett, caught in a career many might envy. And yet. No one knew it at the time, but bloodless Cold War conflict would soon take new forms altogether.