The girl with seven names: a North Korean defector's story

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.