This novel is based on real facts and heroic deeds that carry an extraordinary transformative force: that of love taken to the extreme. A man is thrown in prison without any trial or sentence. His future seems to be cut short by despair. An oppressive regime that prevents all freedom appears to emerge triumphant. And the captive goes on to become a symbol of an entire people. This situation changes when the response to it transcends human logic and causes a hurricane of reactions. It seems an impossible task to capture in words an experience as astonishing as that lived by Cardinal F. X. Nguyen Van Thuan. Instead the author weaves an exploratory story, tests convictions and raises questions about the prisons and executioners that threaten our most precious treasure: our freedom.