Seventeen people flee their home country in a tiny fishing boat on the open sea. They sneak out of communist Vietnam under the cover of darkness, heading for the South China Sea—and freedom.

On board is a pregnant mother, carrying her third child. Two young daughters. And a father, a former soldier with nothing in his pockets but a pack of cigarettes.

Leaving behind a land they love and fear, they navigate unexpected perils and terrifying times in their daring escape.

This true and inspiring memoir about one family’s journey is both their personal history and the rich history of America: a land built on hope and faith by immigrants and refugees—people who risked everything to reach its shores.