Decades of civil war in Central America, coupled with the need for manpower in the United States, e made the Hispanic immigrant a fixture in modern American life. This is one such story: that of Calixto, who comes to the United States "with his stomach empty but his soul full of hope". Showing the heartbreak as well as the humor of missteps and misunderstandings in a strange culture, award-winning author Mario Bencastro creates a sensitive and caring portrait of Calixto as he seeks not only work, but safety from unjust persecution in his homeland. Through conversations, court transcripts, newspaper articles, and letters, Bencastro's novel deftly allows Calixto and his fellow Guatemalan, Salvadoran, and South American migrants to tell their own stories as they struggle to survive in the restaurant kitchens, bars, crowded tenements, and detention centers that become Calixto's proving grounds.