Sent to spend the summer with his grandmother , he was left cut off from his mother in Moscow after the rapid German advance through Ukraine .
On the train , Levinton meets a six - year - old boy named David .
Sent to spend the summer with Levinton 's grandmother , Levinton was left cut off from his mother in Moscow after the rapid German advance through Ukraine .
On the train , Levinton meets a six - year - old boy named David .