In her autobiography, Kobayashi Chitose reveals her life story as a young Japanese girl living in North Korea during the Japanese occupation. As World War II rages on, Chitose grapples with the devastating impact it has on her family, from trivial things like not being able to obtain the desired school bag to her father's recruitment as a soldier. Despite the war's end, Chitose and her family continue to face challenges as the North Koreans, tired of Japanese oppression, form an alliance with a Chinese-backed communist government, leading to a miserable existence for the remaining Japanese in North Korea. Fearing retaliation due to her father's status as a Japanese veteran, he risks everything to ensure the family's escape to the US-occupied southern area beyond the 38th parallel.