Tomorrow You Go Home

The haunting true story of a hardworking British businessman who became mired in the deadly, corruption-laden nightmare of Russia’s current prison system—and lived to tell about it, thanks to a love affair that kept his hope alive and the efforts of family and friends in Moscow and in London. A twenty-first-century Midnight Express, Tig Hague’s powerful memoir brings to light the brutal machinations of Putin’s Russia—a world where the smallest mistake can land you in a frightening, Kafka-esque system, and where those in charge turn a blind eye to the law. Tomorrow You Go Home is the story of an ordinary man on an ordinary business trip who rapidly began to wonder if he would ever have his peaceful life back again. Departing London for Moscow in July 2003, Hague said good-bye to his girlfriend and prepared to meet with clients in a country that was supposedly undergoing radical reform. Once the plane landed, Hague realized he had left a small amount of hash in the pocket of his jeans—an oversight that would bring him face-to-face with the reality of contemporary Russian justice. He was refused a translator, denied contact with the British Embassy, and while awaiting trial was beaten by guards in prison. His $50,000 payment to lawyers was no match for fabricated evidence, and before long he was serving a lengthy sentence in a frigid labor camp, where the work nearly cost him his eyesight and ruined his health. The only saving grace were regular visits from his girlfriend, who traveled to be with him and eventually married him in the prison. Taking its title from the favorite taunt of Hague’s prison guard, Tomorrow You Go Home provides a chilling glimpse into the still-desperate conditions behind the “former” Iron Curtain.