By April 20, 1992, Sarajevo is a city mired in the depths of war. The firsthand account of the Bosnian civil war given to us by Zlata brings home what it must have been like for the many civilians caught up in the middle of this brutal, bloody conflict. As she tells her diary, which she calls Minny,

War is no joke, it seems. It destroys, kills, burns, separates, brings unhappiness.

Given the incredible danger that everyone's facing, it's not surprising that so many people are thinking about leaving Sarajevo. Zlata's one of them. But it's by no means an easy decision to make, as she has family members to be taken into consideration.

As Zlata candidly confesses to her diary, she can't bear the thought of leaving the city without her parents and grandparents. Going with her mother wouldn't be any kind of solution either. The ideal would be for Zlata to leave with her parents, but that's not possible, because her father can't go.

And so Zlata has decided that she will remain in Sarajevo with her family. The following day, she will tell her Aunt Keka that she has to be brave and so she has to stay with the people she loves and who love her. And so Zlata will stay in war-torn Sarajevo with her family.