Two North Korean orphaned girls become close friends as they mature, but this is no ordinary coming-of-age plot. By the end of the novel, the title has become a sad irony, as the girls are exploited, betrayed, and trafficked into prostitution. Though this story is very painful to read, with its harrowing and graphic details of sexual degradation, it commands the reader's empathy in bearing witness to the vile international sex trade.
