Ann Shin, Canadian of Korean extraction, is the author of her poignant and unflinching novel “The Last Exiles.“ Inspired from real stories of incredible bravery, The Last Exiles is a stunning debut about love, sacrifice, and the price of liberty.

Suja and Jin meet and fall in love while studying at the university in Pyongyang, though even with the difference in status, which is supposed to be a egalitarian society. When the university break rolls in, Jin goes home the very evening to find his family starving, with their only food resources all but gone. Making a rash decision, he decides get their food rations back; little does he know the harsh choice shall haunt him for the rest of his life.

Meanwhile, miles away, Suja has come to know of Jin‘s absence of his disappearance. Risking everything, she sets out to find him, embarking on
a treacherous journey that will test their love for each other and their will to survive.

In this vivid and moving story, Ann Shin offers a rare glimpse at life inside the guarded steel walls of North Korea.