The book is Gobodo-Madikizela's account of her interviews with state-sanctioned mass murderer Eugene De Kock from the time of apartheid in South Africa.

These interviews are mixed in with stories of victims and criminals on both sides of the racial barrier with whom she met during her time as a member of the Human Rights Violations Committee, a part of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

She has received an honorary degree of theology from the Friedrich-Schiller University Jena in Germany due to her work in post-apartheid South Africa.

During a speech for C-SPAN, she discusses the stories of different victims of apartheid crimes such as de Kock's along with her personal experience with him.

In the book, she wrote about the anxiety and fear she felt going into the interviews, due to the crimes he had committed and the evil reputation he had.

In the book, Gobodo-Madikizela mentions this nickname making her nervous going into the interviews, as she was afraid he would be truly evil as people depicted him to be.

It was also presented to audiences school children in order to educate them on the history of apartheid and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

[13] The book, for the most part, was highly acclaimed, with reviews praising Gobodo-Madikizela's writing along with her courage to interview de Kock.