In 1971 a young French ethnologist named Francois Bizot was taken prisoner byforces of the Khmer Rouge who kept him chained in a jungle camp for monthsbefore re... » 

In 1971 a young French ethnologist named Francois Bizot was taken prisoner byforces of the Khmer Rouge who kept him chained in a jungle camp for monthsbefore releasing him. Four years later Bizot became the intermediary betweenthe now victorious Khmer Rouge and the occupants of the besieged French embassyin Phnom Penh eventually leading a desperate convoy of foreigners to safetyacross the Thai border. Out of those ordeals comes this transfixing book. Atits center lies the relationship between Bizot and his principal captor a mannamed Douch who is today known as the most notorious of the Khmer Rougestorturers but who for a while was Bizots protector and friend. Written withthe immediacy of a great novel unsparing in its understanding of evil TheGate manages to be at once wrenching and redemptive. «