In 1962, a US soldier sent to guard the peace in South Korea undertook an extraordinary journey. At the height of the Cold War, he deserted his unit, walked across the most heavily fortified area on earth and defected to an alien place, the enemy: the communist state of North Korea. The existence of an American defector was neither confirmed nor denied by the US government. The man who crossed the line had simply disappeared from the face of the known world. He was a coveted star of the North Korean propaganda machine, acting in films as an evil American. He ingratiated himself in a system that perpetuates hatred of the US and subordinates the individual to the state and the leader. He has lived in North Korea twice as long as he has in America. He uses Korean as his daily language. He has three sons from two wives. He was one of four Americans living in North Korea at one time. For the first time, the story of Comrade Joe, the last American defector in North Korea, is told.