Book excerpt: "In 1944, twenty-year-old Leslie Vertes escapes from a forced labour detail in Budapest and miraculously survives by assuming a false identity. About to taste freedom as the end of the war nears, his liberation is short-lived when he is caught by the new Soviet regime and sent for two years of back-breaking labour and captivity. Rebuilding his life and finding love, Leslie's security is once again threatened during the 1956 Hungarian uprising. It is not until he flees to Canada that he finally finds true freedom"--back cover.