Alicia Partnoy was a political activist in her home country of Argentina when she was in college, but she has moved past that season along with the assassination of Isabel Peron in 1976. When she snatched off the street by dictator Jorge Rafael Videla's thugs one day, Alicia is carrying her eighteen-month-old baby who was quickly separated from her. Without any explanation she is thrown into a secret detention facility referred to as a "little school" because the prisoners were being taught lessons.
These lessons consisted of brutal torture and insistent attempt upon dehumanizing the prisoners. Alicia and her fellow prisoners were starved. They were given blindfolds to wear at all times, but Alicia's wears a tiny hole, so she remembers some visual details of her experience. Most of the memories, however, rely upon her other senses. Although beaten, sexually assaulted, and verbally berated, they were not allowed to speak, definitely not to communicate with one another. With bitter anguish Alicia recalls how she didn't even have a trial or any purpose for being there.
As an attempt to retain morale and to rebel against the demoralization of her captors, Alicia found pleasure in simple experiences out of the ordinary. She hoarded bread crumbs under her pillow to place on her tongue for a mood boost. When it rained, she stuck her hand out through the window to feel the cold drops. At some point she's given a toothbrush which became a prized possession. Most significantly, one day by chance, Alicia was allowed to recite poetry for herself and the other prisoners.
After three and a half months of this inexplicable torture, Alicia was transferred to prison. Although prison was a miserable place, there was no torture. She remained imprisoned for two more years before a sudden release, again without explanation. At home once more, Alicia was reunited with her family, including her baby girl who is now several years old. She recorded all the sordid details of her experience which she could remember in order to aid in the trial of Videla.
