After the fall of Saigon in April 1975, Phan Nhật Nam was arrested and imprisoned in northern reeducation camps, including Hỏa Lò Prison in Hanoi. He spent 14 years (1975–1989) in detention, eight years of which were in solitary confinement, for his association with the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces and his published anti-communist essays.
After years of petitioning, Nam was approved for emigration under the Orderly Departure Program (ODP) in 1993. Following his medical and administrative clearances, he departed Vietnam in November 1993 and resettled in the United States shortly thereafter. He went on to author several works, including Stories That Must Be Told, The Distant Road (1995), The Silent Night, and The Fire-Keeping Winter (1997).