For twelve-year-old Diego, home is a prison in Cochabamba, Bolivia. His parents are locked up, but he is free to come and go: to school, to the market to sell his mother's hand-knitted goods, and to work as a 'taxi', running errands for the prisoners. But when his little sister runs away and his mother receives a heavy fine, Diego has to make big money, fast. His friend Mando has a plan.

Lured by the promise of riches, Diego and Mando are soon deep in the jungle and far from home. Forced to manufacture cocaine in terrible conditions, Diego must risk everything if he wants to see his family again.

Deborah Ellis has used her investigative skills, her strong social conscience and her gift for storytelling to turn a complex situation into a rip-roaring, heart-wrenching adventure.