Summary

In the introduction, "Step out of the car!", the author describes the controversial cases he will explore throughout the book. These cases include those of Sandra Bland, Brock Turner, Amanda Knox, and Bernie Madoff. He says the intent of Talking to Strangers is to understand Bland's case by looking at other parallel encounters between strangers.

In Part 1, Chapter 1, "Fidel Castro's Revenge," the author tells the story of Cuban intelligence agent Florentino Aspillaga. While working in Bratislava, Aspillaga defected. After his defection, Aspillaga was debriefed in Germany, where he requested a visit from another intelligence officer, the Mountain Climber. Aspillaga told the Mountain climber about a network of double agents in Cuba. There were countless spies working for both the CIA and Fidel Castro. Aspillaga and the Mountain Climber then traveled to Washington, D.C. and gave the...