Julio, a ten year old bright boy, is the only survivor of his family when the flood of the century killed about five thousand people on Saturday, December 7, 1941 at the northern part of Huaras, Ancash, Peru. His cousin, Esperanza, takes charge of him. Together they go to Lima, suffer hardships to earn their secondary diplomas in order to enter the United States of America as immigrants and become worthy, naturalized citizens.