"Sita Valles was said to have been shot at five in the morning on 1 August 1977, one shot in each leg, one shot in each arm. Her body fell into the ditch that had been dug for the purpose before the fatal shot struck her, or what was left of her after being tortured and raped by the political police. It is also said that the beautiful, elegant, and intelligent communist of Goan origin -- a Goan-Portuguese woman with an African heart -- remained rebellious until her final moment. Sita Valles was a doctor. She was 26 years old when she was executed without a trial. The Angolan regime in power accused her of being one of the masterminds of the alleged putsch of 27 May 1977, a bloody drama that led to the brutal murder of an undetermined number of victims -- a number suspected to be in the tens of thousands. Sita Valles had a short but intense life at a time when it was uncommon for a woman to engage herself to the fullest in politics. Few of her closest Angolan friends have survived, just as documents and personal effects have vanished forever. Periods of her life remain unknown, impossible to reproduce. But this fascinating story is something that would surely surprise Goa."--