Several million rural inhabitants of Vietnam's northern deltas made the decision to move home during the 20th century, seeking to make new homes in the country's highlands. Their decisions and the settlements they created had wide-ranging effects on their home communities and on the people and environment of their destinations. Many migrations were made in response to policy decisions made in Hanoi.

The book offers a historical analysis of the political economy of migration, stimulated by the French colonial and independent socialist states. It shows how socialist policies especially changed the face of the highlands, as settlers from the plains turned the hills 'red'.

Placing people's experiences in the context of government policy and national history, this book explores their anticipations, difficulties, achievements and disappointments, highlighting the geopolitical importance of the highlands. It can be read as a contribution to migration studies in Southeast Asia, but also as a grassroots history of 20th-century Vietnam. Written in a lively reading style and illustrated by numerous maps and photographs, this study promises to become a classic in Vietnamese historical studies.