In 1989, while South Africa stood on the brink of civil war, Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk began a series of secret meetings that would dismantle apartheid through dialogue rather than bloodshed. Ezra Wade chronicles how these private dinners between the world's most famous political prisoner and the leader of the system that imprisoned him created the framework for one of history's most remarkable peaceful transitions of power. Their conversations demonstrate that even the most entrenched systems of oppression can be dismantled when adversaries recognize that the cost of conflict exceeds the price of compromise, offering vital lessons for resolving seemingly intractable conflicts today.