Meltem and her family flee the Kurdish region of Turkey after her father is badly beaten by soldiers. When their application for asylum is rejected in Germany, they undertake a desperate journey to Britain, unable to return to Turkey because of the circumstances of their departure. It takes 9 years for their application to succeed in Britain, but not before many stressful incidents, periods of detention and threats of deportation. Meltem's story is told in her own words, in diary format, and conveys memorably the emotional highs and lows of her experiences. The text is interspersed with photographs and watercolour illustrations.