In 2016, a newspaper published an article about four children due to be sent to an orphanage after their parents were punished for attempting to flee Vietnam. Among 46 asylum seekers trying to reach Australia by boat, they were intercepted by the Australian navy and returned to Vietnam, where intense retribution awaited. This newspaper article sparked a unifying response in people across the globe.

This work tells the story of volunteer advocates who banded together to help a group of Vietnamese refugees on their journey to freedom. Highlighting the courage of "ordinary" people--and with tales of human rights, communal living, reuniting families and their eventual resettlement in Canada--this book paints a vivid picture of Vietnamese families' struggle for liberty in the 21st century.