Young Kek steps off a plane into the cold Minnesota snow, feeling as if he has been sent to another planet. He misses his mother who is still lost somewhere in a Sudanese refugee camp and feels guilty because he survived while his father and brother were murdered.
Imagine the cultural differences, the puzzling economics, the icy cold weather he encounters for the first time! His aunt and cousin welcome him into their home. He starts school and begins to make friends. He makes some mistakes, like
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loading his aunt’s dishes into the clothes washer!
He misses his homeland, too. When he sees a cow, he is reminded of his father’s herds, and he asks the old woman who owns the rundown farm if he can help care for it.
Kek has weathered many hardships, but when the old woman tells him she must sell the farm—and the cow—will he be able to handle one more disappointment? And will he ever see his mother again?
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