This book was riveting, intriguing, horrifying at times and also heartwarming. It is the story of three very brave courageous women who fought against all odds against the dictatorship of Haddam Hussein. Readers will get an in depth look at what life was like during the Vietnam War and the Hussein regime and dictatorship. The author has done a brilliant job in carefully creating the characters and in my opinion, the research is both outstanding and flawless. I read and learned about the culture, fear, struggle, emotions, feelings and torture residents of Vietnam were subjected to. I cannot recommend reading this book highly enough. It is historical fiction at its finest. These opinions are strictly my own and I rated it a five, but it could very easily been rated higher. At times it was a bit difficult for me to read only because I was learning a new culture and couldn’t pronounce some of the words.