Africa in the 1960s: Elen, a 13-year-old girl determined to escape her arranged marriage to an old man, flees from Ethiopia to Eritrea, hoping to find her aunt in the capital, Asmara. Meanwhile, after the death of his beloved father, Germai escapes his violent stepmother, only to end up homeless and starving on the city streets. Despite all odds, Elen and Germai grow up to become successful entrepreneurs, each with their own life and family. When the Derg regime overthrows the government, they turn Asmara into a nightmare of roving gangs of soldiers who beat and shoot civilians indiscriminately, with no one held accountable. Elen and Germai survive the bloodbath of the Red Terror and are recruited as spies for the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF). Facing the threat of abuse and execution if discovered, they struggle to secure money and weapons and use their contacts to gather intelligence.
The stakes grow ever higher as the horrors of Derg-sanctioned torture in detention centers for dissidents come to light. Elen and Germai grapple with their precarious struggle for justice and their growing passion for one another. As they fall in love, they face difficult moral decisions, tragedies, and acts of heroism in a struggle and a cause greater than their own lives.
Born at the End of the World tells a gripping true story of patriotism, love, camaraderie, and heroism that is no less uplifting or harrowing than Schindler’s List. (Publisher)