"Being born in North Korea was a crime in all but law.

I couldn’t speak freely, hear freely, see freely, or move freely—

I was a slave in all but name."

This book tells the harrowing story of Song Byeok, who was born in North Korea, and his family as they endured a desperate life brought on by economic collapse and famine, as well as his own journey to freedom. Despite the oppression of dictatorship, the love among family members and their longing for freedom never faded, and his life-risking escape demonstrated his courage to overcome that oppression.

Through this book, he seeks to comfort and represent the millions who perished under the dictatorship of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, while also shedding light on the silent cries of those who still live a hellish existence, trapped inside the vast prison called North Korea under the third-generation dictatorship of Kim Jong-un.