Long Dance Home — John R. Dann

Second volume in The Good Neighbor Series, Long Dance Home, a.k.a. Irina, is a tale of courage and persistence. Irina, the last Dacia family member in Romania, flees threats of death from the Iron Guard. She is lead dancer in the Romanian State Dance Ensemble which is planning a tour of America. After her escape across the Transylvanian Alps fails, she must defect while on tour in N.Y.C.Meanwhile, Josif and Izabella Dacia must get a car and drive to NY to rescue Irina. This, while still preserving enough money to pay the mortgage and survive the coming winter.The gangsters from Fate Be Damned have relatives and rivals who threaten the lives of the Dacias and their neighbors. The farmers prevail, causing the gangsters national embarrassment and deep hatred of the Dacias and their friends.Irina finds unexpected and life-saving help from Ida Epstein, another passenger on the ocean liner, The Atlantia. The two become fast friends and foil the plots of three unscrupulous dancers who have embraced the Iron Guard.The Dacias also have help, in the form of their rowdy neighbor, August Wagner, brought along to help with reading road signs and fighting.Things come to a head when the South Dakotans confront Iron Guardsmen on the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral after a high-speed chase through New York.Other surprises await the group in New York and back on the farm. The Dacias continue their efforts to become American, experiencing the ideals of progress, tolerance, and neighbors helping neighbors.