Stasi men were not hard to spot. They were brutal, not smart. It was a career for people who craved prestige and power but had little intelligence and no talents. Rebecca’s first husband, Hans, was typical. He was little more than a nasty bully, but he had risen steadily and now seemed to be one of their top commanders, driving around in a limousine and living in a large villa surrounded by a high wall.

Lili was reluctant to call attention to herself, but she decided she needed to verify her suspicion, so she had to be brazen. “Hello, guys!” she said amiably.

Both men grunted a perfunctory greeting.

Lili was not going to let them off easily. “Are you here with your wives?” she said. They could hardly fail to recognize that as a come-on.

The fair one shook his head and the other just said: “No.” They were not clever enough to pretend.

“Really?” This was almost confirmation enough, she thought. What were two single men doing at a holiday camp if not looking for girls? And they were too badly dressed to be homosexual. “Tell me,” said Lili, forcing a bright tone, “where do you go for a good time in the evenings here? Is there anywhere to dance?”

“I don’t know.”

That was enough. If these two are on holiday, I’m Mrs. Brezhnev, she thought. She walked away.

This was a problem. How could the Francks meet Rebecca without the Stasi men finding out?

Lili returned to her family. Both tents were now up. “Bad news,” she told her father. “Two Stasi men. One row south and three tents east of us.”

“I was afraid of that,” said Werner.

• • •

They were to meet Rebecca two days later at a restaurant she had visited on her first trip. But before going there the Francks would have to shake off the secret police. Lili was worried, but her parents seemed unreasonably calm.

On the first day, Werner and Carla left early in the bronze Trabi, saying they were going to reconnoiter. The Stasi men followed them in a green Skoda. Werner and Carla were out all day and returned looking confident.

Next morning, Werner told Lili he was taking her for a hike. They stood outside the tent with rucksacks, helping each other adjust them. They put on stout boots and wide-brimmed hats. It was clear to anyone who looked that they were setting out for a long walk.

At the same time, Carla prepared to depart with shopping bags, making a list and saying loudly: “Ham, cheese, bread . . . anything else?”

Lili worried that they were being too obvious.

They were watched by the secret policemen, who were sitting outside their tent, smoking.

They set off in opposite directions, Carla heading for the car park, Lili and Werner for the beach. The Stasi agent with the Beatle haircut went after Carla, and the fair one followed Werner and Lili.

“So far, so good,” said Werner. “We’ve split them.”