Random House Australia

First-time author Mara Moustafine was born into a Russian-Jewish enclave in Harbin, northern China. In the 1930s, the Japanese occupation of Manchuria divided her extended family. Seeking refuge, some fled to the Soviet Union but found only further danger there under Stalin. Others stayed behind to face a different set of grave dangers in China. In the late 1950s Moustafine emigrated to Australia from China with her parents. Returning to post-Soviet Russia as an adult, she sought to uncover the secrets of her past. The resulting book draws on classified police files retrieved from once closed archives in post-Soviet Russia.

Bilingual in Russian and English, Moustafine holds a Masters in International Relations from the Australian National University. She has worked as a diplomat, intelligence analyst, journalist, and senior business executive in Australia and Asia.