Within the first forty years of operation of the Soviet Gulag system, at least 18 million people were imprisoned and more than one and a half million die. At its peak, the Gulag is comprised of nearly 500 prison districts with up to 30,000 individual prison camps. They stretch across the vast country–many of them in remote locations and harsh climates–like Siberia, and Central Asia. These are three of the most incredible tales of the fight for survival. First, a system designed to starve and work inmates to death. Then–a 40-day siege that comes to a terrible end and finally–a political prisoner who risks his life to expose the system to the world.