From the age of four, Edwidge Danticat came to think of her uncle Joseph, a charismatic pastor, as her "second father," when she was placed in his care after her parents left Haiti for America. When she is finally able to join her parents at age twelve, she experiences a jumble of emotions. Reunited with her parents and brothers, she leaves behind Joseph, and the only home she's ever known.

Edwidge makes a new life in America while fearing for those still in Haiti, as the political situation deteriorates, and good people are caught up in terrifying events. In 2004, his life threatened by an angry mob, the frail, 81-year-old Joseph makes his way to Miami, where he thinks he will be safe. Instead, he's detained, and dead within days.