This book is based on the Khmer Rouge regime and the destruction it left in its wake. The long and brutal Civil war in Cambodia had brought about terrible sufferings for its people and destroyed the fabric of its society. Although the protagonist of this story is a Bangladeshi Army officer who goes to Cambodia as part of the UN's program to remove mines from the countryside and has a love affair with a Cambodian girl, this novel tried to depict how the concept of morality fades in the face of such wanton destruction and terror.