Alfreda Starza-Miniszewska was just 12 years old when Soviet soldiers burst into her family's house and gave them two hours' notice to pack up and leave. They were forced onto a cattle train and sent to labour camps in the desolate north of Russia. While just a young girl, she experienced extreme cold, starvation and brutal oppression. She developed tuberculosis, pleurisy, pneumonia, malaria, and was chased by wolves, bears and a wild man living rough in the forest. Starvation drove her to eat fish-eye soup, dog meat and even a leather belt. Yet even in her worst moments, she found hope and strength within herself and among the exiled Polish community. Standing as a memorial to her mother and sister, whose bravery and ingenuity repeatedly saved Alfreda's life, this book records her memories of six years in darkest Siberia, "where the Devil says goodnight".