The cost of silence is one of the main themes of the novel; it affects every character’s journey. For the Spanish characters, silence has, by necessity, become a way of life. For the Americans, silence takes one of two forms: the avoidant complicity of those who want to make money from Franco’s Spain, like Daniel’s father; or the quiet respect of those like Daniel, who must learn that Spain’s story is not theirs to tell. Fuga, the one character who refuses to be silent about the lost children of Franco, is killed.

Rafa remains silent about the abuse he endured after the war. He does not want to burden his sisters with this information, nor does he want to get in trouble by complaining. Similarly, Ana tells no one about the threatening notes she receives. Like Rafa, she does not want to burden her family, especially Julia. Julia’s silence lasts the longest; she never tells anyone that the fascists kidnapped one of her children. It is not until after Franco’s death that she speaks of it, and even then, she worries that there might still be some punishment or penalty for speaking of it. Her continued silence represents the Pact of Forgetting, the willingness of some of the Spanish people to simply pretend as if all the things that happened under Franco did not happen.