A complete look at the events from both sides: a thorough study of the psychology of a maniac and the incredible revival of the victim Ekaterina Martynova.

“We could have died many times. But we clung to life with all our might and waited. People like Mokhov, sooner or later, always make mistakes...”

Saturday. The small Russian town of Skopin. A garage is visible in one of the courtyards. At ground level, a metal plate, hiding the passage, slowly and carefully slides aside. A pale teenage girl appears from it. She has a strange figure: long arms, flat chest, thin legs. She covers her eyes with her hand, trying to get used to the light. She stands motionless and waits to be ordered to do.

This story has spread throughout the country and beyond. A distinguished worker, a “good, decent” man, Viktor Mokhov, dug a cellar in his yard to keep two teenage girls there. They were his sex slaves, bore him children, hated him, and waited for him to come, because no one but him knew they were there.
How did they survive? Were they able to recover from the trauma? What has their life turned out like, and are they afraid of their tormentor, who is being released in 2021?

“When I learned Katya’s story, I expected to see a broken person who was saved by a miracle, but would never be able to live a normal life. My personal encounter shocked me. In the book, I tried to convey how a fragile girl managed to survive all of this.” — KARSTEN GRAFF