It is February 1988, and most of the political prisoners have been released, to be replaced by common criminals. The Orange County Register Thanh Thuy Nguyen eagerly scans the crowd at the bus depot. It was one of the few things she was allowed to keep. The Register Boys hawk herbal drinks.
Young women clutch babies.
Pedicab drivers hustle fares. And men and women such as Thuy, their bodies shrunken and lives broken, search for a familiar face as they emerge after years behind bars. Thuy repeats to herself. She is a far different woman than the one who helped build Camp Z30-D in 1975. Her silky hair is gone.