How It All Goes Down
Twelve-year-old Alex's world is shattered when he wakes up to discover that his entire family has been arrested by the Soviet secret police. Terrified, Alex decides to seek help from his favorite teacher, Katriana Sergyeva, who provides him a place to stay and tells him to head to Moscow to stay with his Uncle Dmitri. She also tells him about her brother Basil, who lives in St. Petersburg and helps smuggle Russian citizens out of the country.
Unfortunately, Alex's journey is made ten times harder when a group of Russian soldiers commandeer his train, forcing him to walk all the way to Moscow. It's a brutal trek, but Alex arrives in the city with hope in his heart.
But alas, Alex's uncle has been arrested, too, leaving Alex homeless and penniless. That's when he runs into a group of boys who are stealing from a market. He helps one of the boys evade the authorities by pointing a solider in the wrong direction, which earns him some props from Peter, the group's leader, who invites Alex to hang out and enjoy some grub.
Before long, Alex has basically joined their posse. He proves himself to be quite a resourceful thief and earns respect from the other kids thanks to his ability to read. Unfortunately, winter has arrived, causing a brutal famine in Moscow. With no other options, the group heads south in the hope of finding someplace better.
This trip is cut short when two of the boys, Boris and Grigory, frame the group for crimes they didn't commit and turn them over to the authorities. Then something even worse happens: Miska, the youngest boy in the crew, is killed by the director of the orphanage where they're locked up. The boys manage to escape after this, but not before Peter kills the man responsible for his friend's murder.
For some reason, this sparks something in Alex, prompting him to tell Peter about Katriana's brother. The group then heads to St. Petersburg to meet with Basil, who directs them to a man who will sneak them into Finland. Surprisingly, Peter decides to stay in Russia to help other kids from Moscow, rather than enjoy his newfound freedom in Finland. Although Alex is bummed about this, he becomes excited beyond belief when he realizes that Katriana is waiting on the shores of Finland for him to arrive.