In Max Espinoza's gritty story, we see life through the eyes of Rodolpho and Gabriel, two Mexicanos with dreams of finding a better life for themselves. Each man faces his own inner demons while navigating a world where Gringos hate you, Chicanos disown you, and 'La Migra' hunts you down like an animal.
Getting jobs in the L.A. garment district through a 'coyote', Rodolpho and Gabriel find themselves working ten hour days for little pay: barely enough to pay the rent, much less send money home. And always, in the shadows, there is Baca, the coyote, demanding his pound of flesh for smuggling them over the border.
Yet even in East L.A., where survival for the illegal worker means being invisible, taking what you can get, and never causing trouble, hope lingers. Rodolpho dreams of his wife back home; Gabriel yearns for romance, and riches just beyond his reach. They were friends when they came to America, but events and circumstances will force them to go their separate ways, and take stands that will change their lives forever.
