In 1975, the Khmer Rouge, a group of followers of the Communist group called Kampuchea run by Pol Pot, took over Phenom Penh and forced over two million people into labor camps in the mountainous country side of Cambodia. On a steamy day in April 1975, civilians in the town of Phenom Penh are going about their daily lives when soldiers pull into the city signifying the end of the war. Momentarily, the people are relieved and cheering. But then the soldiers start shouting at the people to evacuate the city. "They holler for the people to close their shops, to gather all guns and weapons, to surrender the weapons to them" (Ung 21). "They scream at families to move faster, to get out of the way, to not talk back" (Ung 22). In a state of confusion, families fearfully scramble to follows the orders of the angry soldiers and hastily leave the comfort and safety of all that they know. This story takes place in 1975 Cambodia. It is about a girl named Loung Ung. She lives in a middle class, family of 9 in Phenom Penh, Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge takes over and forces them into labor camps in the Cambodian mountains. These labor camps have horrible conditions and the family endures rough times in their new life as war refugees.