The Hostage

A hijacked plane touches down on Riga Airport. The hijacker explains his choice of location: “In theory, it could also have been Tallinn or Vilnius but I like names that contain the letter ‘R’.” A seven-year-old Tom, who is traveling on his own, voluntarily becomes a hostage and wants to learn all about the country where they have landed. In addition to the usual demands (hard cash and an arranged flight to another destination), the hijacker adds a few ideas from the little hostage: from a selection of local chocolates to a self-instruction tape for learning the local language to organising a mixture of a Folk Song Festival and a special performance by Latvian top biathletes.