This is the semi-autobiographical account of a soldier's experiences. The hero of the story, Kien, is a captain. After 10 years of war and months as a MIA body-collector, Kien suffers a nervous breakdown in Hanoi as he tries to re-establish a relationship with his former sweetheart. The author is a veteran of the NVA's Glorious 27th Youth Brigade, a 500-man unit from which only 10 men survived. He lives in Hanoi.