About the title
North Korean border guard Lim Gyu-nam is nearing the end of his ten-year term of service, and has long been planning to escape to the South. His fellow soldier Kim, who has been watching his preparations, steals his map marked with mines, but is caught by a patrol while digging a tunnel, which also accuses Lim of attempting to escape. The security officer assigned to the case turns out to be Gyu-nam's childhood friend and, overlooking certain evidence, offers him a chance to continue his service as a general's adjutant. But the prospect holds no appeal for the young man. He is determined to leave his communist homeland, taking the hapless Kim out of captivity with him, and to do it before evening.