Chapter 5: Journey into Defeat Summary

Chapter five opens with the introduction of Ivan Kondratiev. He works in the Political Bureau and is a man of many disguises. He uses several of them to make an undetected trip to Spain to see how the Revolution there is progressing.

In Barcelona, Kondratiev spends several days going over reports and interviewing individuals. He comes to the conclusion that there is much corruption and inadequacy and the war may end in defeat.

The story then jumps to Stefan Stern. He crosses into Spain with no money or passport and ends up living with a woman named Annie in Gracia where he writes many theses and articles with her help and talks with comrades about the progress of the Revolution.

One morning Stefan is kidnapped and taken to a boat where he is questioned. The reader finds...