When Latif Yahia, scion of one of Iraq's wealthiest families, was summoned from the front in the Iran-Iraq War to Saddam Hussein's inner sanctum, the Palace of the Republic, he was given a choice: become the double of Saddam's eldest son, Uday...or die. Latif underwent surgery to modify his appearance and was trained to move, speak, and behave exactly like Uday.

As the stand-in for one of Iraq's most powerful and hated men, he participated in affairs of state, made public appearances, and, during the Gulf War, visited the troops on the front lines while Uday stayed safely in Switzerland. He also saw firsthand the horrors and absurdities of a regime based on corruption and intrigue. He was privy to unbridled scenes of debauchery, and witnessed repeated instances of torture, terror, rape, and murder.

When Saddam's soldiers plundered Kuwait, Latif was there, both the tool of his master and the recorder of Iraqi crimes. In this expose, he tells what he saw and heard.

After years of service to Uday, Latif escaped through Kurdistan, where he found refuge with American forces. His coauthor, Karl Wendl, the journalist who broke his story to the world, has written an epilogue covering key events in Iraq and within the regime since Latif's flight, culminating in the attempted assassination of Uday on December 12, 1996, and its aftermath.