Vietnam

This country in South East Asia has for centuries been the focus of conflict between other powers in the region such as China, Japan, and Cambodia. In the 1960s and 1970s, a war between the Communist North and the South that was supported by the United States resulted in millions of lives being lost and the establishment of a Communist government over the entire country.

Hanoi

This is the North Vietnamese capital city. Kien grew up here and returns to it in adulthood to try to rebuild his life and establish his career as a writer.

Saigon

The capital of South Vietnam, Saigon was the last part of the country to fall to the Communist North Vietnamese in the war, its capture signaling the ultimate triumph of the North. Some of the most vivid and defining incidents in Kien's military career take place in Saigon during its...