While people across 1990s Iraq struggle to survive the war and food shortages, Saddam Hussein requires each school in the country to prepare a cake to celebrate his birthday. Despite her efforts to avoid getting picked, 9-year-old Lamia is chosen among her classmates. The young girl must now use her wits and imagination to gather ingredients for the mandatory cake or face the consequences.

在这部受到普遍称赞的权威性的《古拉格:一部历史》著作中，安妮•阿普尔鲍姆第一次对古拉格——一个大批关押了成百上千万政治犯和刑事犯的集中营——进行了完全纪实性的描述，从它在俄国革命中的起源，到斯大林治下的扩张，再到公开性时代的瓦解。阿普尔鲍姆深刻地再现了劳改营生活的本质并且将其与苏联的宏观历史联系起来。
《古拉格:一部历史》出版之后立即被认为是一部人们期待已久的里程碑式的学术著作，对于任何一个希望了解二十世纪历史的人来说，它都是一本必读书。