In the early hours of New Year's Eve 1994, Russian troops invaded the Republic of Chechnya, plunging the country into a prolonged and bloody conflict. Åsne Seierstad reported regularly on the war, describing its effects on those trying to live their daily lives amidst the violence. In 2006 and 2007 she returned, travelling in secret, in constant danger.

The tragedy of Chechnya had continued but the world had moved on. In a broken and devastated society she meets the orphans, the wounded, the lost — and tells their stories at last.