[Sticker: CWA Non Fiction Dagger SHORTLISTED] 'Thrilling, incredible' Metro 'Extraordinary, gripping' Financial Times It opens with a double-kidnapping . Madame Choi, South Korea's most famous actress, is lured to Hong Kong, drugged and smuggled out on a ship. When her ex-husband, Shin Sang-Ok, Korea's most acclaimed director, goes to look for her, he vanishes too. The pair wake to find themselves in North Korea. They are imprisoned, tortured and brainwashed for five years, never seeing one another. Then they meet North Korea's murderous head of propaganda and next leader, Kim Jong-Il. He tells them they have a choice - go back to prison or make movies for him. This is the true story of how the couple did as they were told - making a cult classic along the way - while secretly plotting a daring escape to the West.

'Gripping, absurd, harrowing' Esquire 'Bold, pacey. Reminds us that ludicrousness and brutality can thrive side-by-side' Independent.