It is May 1999; a NATO military train under the command of American Captain Jones is journeying across Romania. The transport is heading for the Serbian border where radars are to be installed to monitor the Serb-Kosovan conflict. The resolute and upright Jones, however, comes up against an invincible obstacle in the shape of the crafty and slightly mafia-esque Doiaru, the railway chief of a secluded train station who makes use of the administrative chaos to have the transport stopped and shunted onto a siding. His behaviour, among other things, reflects his attempts to cure himself of a trauma from his childhood; for the villagers, however, the Americans’ enforced stopover provides an opportunity for each of them to think of ways to make the most of the given situation. The slow tempo of the narration allows for a detailed exposé of the circumstances, where faithful psychological observations are cleverly combined with ironic abbreviation. The result is an eloquent tragicomedy with incisive critical reflection on both the intimate and social level, in a story which doubles as a universally articulate parable.