In 1997 the author, aged 17, escaped North Korea for China. Her mother's first words over the telephone to her lost daughter were "don't come back". The reprisals for all of them would have been lethal. Twelve years later she returned to the North Korean border in a daring mission to spirit her mother and brother to South Korea in a very costly and dangerous journey. This eloquent book offers the first credible account of ordinary life in North Korea and gives an extraordinary insight into the life under one of the world's most ruthless and secretive dictatorships.

Introduction -- Prologue -- Part One. The greatest nation on Earth. A train through the mountains -- The city at the edge of the world -- The eyes on the wall -- The lady in black -- The man beneath the bridge -- The red shoes -- Boomtown -- The secret photograph -- To be a good communist -- 'Rocky island' -- 'The house is cursed' -- Tragedy at the bridge -- Sunlight on dark water -- 'The great heart has stopped beating' -- Girlfriend of a hoodlum -- 'By the time you read this, the five of us will no longer exist in this world' -- The lights of Changbai -- Over the ice -- Part Two. To the heart of the dragon. A visit to Mr. Ahn -- Home truths -- The suitor -- The wedding trap -- Shenyang girl -- Guilt call -- The men from the south -- Interrogation -- The plan -- The gang -- The comfort of moonlight -- The biggest, brashest city in Asia -- Career woman -- A connection to Hyesan -- The teddy-bear conversations -- The tormenting of Min-ho -- The love shock -- Destination Seoul -- Part Three. Journey into darkness. 'Welcome to Korea' -- The women -- House of unity -- The learning race -- Waiting for 2012 -- A place of ghosts and wild dogs -- An impossible dilemma -- Journey into night -- Under a vast Asian sky -- Lost in Laos -- Whatever it takes -- The kindness of strangers -- Shuttle diplomacy -- Long wait for freedom -- A series of small miracles -- 'I am prepared to die' -- The beauty of a free mind -- Epilogue.