Khieu Saran was 17 years old when the Khmer Rouge swept into Phnom Penh to “liberate” the Cambodian people. The short-lived joy soon turned to horror. Khieu discovered re-education camps, torture, and extermination before being forced to become an executioner for Pol Pot’s regime. After escaping from hell, Khieu is now an investigating judge at an international criminal tribunal whose mission is to track down former regime officials. Until the day he finds the trail of Vorn, his former torturer. Accompanied by Sokha, his adopted daughter, Khieu flies to France to put an end to the ghosts of the past.
With ambition and humanity, Une main vers le ciel explores filiation and transmission: what can still be passed on after the unspeakable? Between historical epic and action novel, Jean-Christophe Boccou questions the fine line between justice and revenge, reminding us of the urgent need to remember.
