Tracing the Development of a Theme from a Bird's Eye View In Isaiah Berlin's Agnelli Prize-winning essay, "The Pursuit of the Ideal" , the British philosopher asserts that “we are condemned to choose, and every choice can result in irreparable loss. The Berlin Statement is proven in The Way the Crow Flies by award-winning author Ann-Marie MacDonald. Set in a post-war era, The Way the Crow Flies tells the gripping story of a wing commander, named Jack McCarthy, and his family after moving to a close-knit community called Centralia. Jack's choices in Centralia ultimately place him in a compromising position. Her daughter, Madeleine, is the victim of horrible abuse from her fourth grade teacher after school. These two main storylines then intertwine with the death of a little girl, and an innocent boy named Ricky Froelich is put on trial for her murder. Now, Madeleine and her father Jack find themselves condemned to choose secrecy or revelation and discover that every choice they make has great consequences. Over the course of As the Crow Flies, the theme of choice and its consequences is developed through the bickering, sexual abuse, and confrontation of the Cold War. The Cold War was a power struggle between the United States and Russia. In As the Eye Flies, both governments make choices during the Cold War that ultimately set off a chain of events leading to Ricky Froelich's conviction. During World War II, Jewish slaves made rockets in an underground facility called Dora, under the supervision of Nazi scientists. At the end of World War II, many scientists fled Germany to escape prosecution by the U.S. government. In The Way The Crow Flies, the American government secretly recruits Nazi scientists for the American space program. The CIA's decision to aid a Nazi scientist for the benefit of its government is a choice that ultimately infects the small community of Centralia. When Jack McCarthy, a highly respected Air Force squadron commander, moves to Centralia, he is contacted by an old friend named Simon, who works for the CIA. Simon asks Jack to hide a Nazi scientist named Oskar Fried, who is seeking political refuge. Jack, however, is unaware that Oskar Fried is a former Nazi, so he agrees to do it because he trusts his friend Simon. Jack's decision to help Oskar Fried ultimately puts him in a compromising position when a little girl named Claire McCarroll is murdered and a boy named Ricky Froelich is tried for her murder..