In this investigation of the aftermath of communism in Poland, Hungary, East Germany and Czechoslovakia, each chapter centres round a legal case, highlighting the moral, political and legal questions raised by the changes in these countries, but also weaving in other characters and stories - of espionage, sexual blackmail and moral compromise. Should a young East German border-guard who shot someone trying to escape to the West be brought to trial for obeying what was then the law? Should all the former communists in Czechoslovakia be brought to trial, even if they were only trying to do what was best for themselves and their families? The book presents an examination of how these East European countries come to terms with their past.