This novel describes the turmoil of the political takeover of Cambodia, and the atrocities of a brutal genocide. It is based on the true story told by a Cambodian girl of her family’s struggle to survive, when the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh.
Her testimony is a record of a crucial time in Cambodia. The story is both chilling and suspenseful. It brings to life a courageous woman, Khema, who suffers the pain of the time and of her separation from her loved one, York, a Cambodian doctor. The story of her exit from Phnom Penh into the country side, with her family disguised as peasants, is a fearful tale colored by the death, massacre and atrocities of the Khmer Rouge.
The drama of Khema’s struggle to survive is interwoven with descriptions of the horror brought on by the most evil dictators of the twentieth century.