In April 1980, a family is abruptly awakened by loud banging and screaming at their door. Government officials have come for them to drive them to the Port of Mariel in Havana, where a boat awaits to take them to the United States. However, the entire family will not be able to make this journey to the land of the free. Two sisters, who have been inseparable and shared the same house on Zapote Street, are suddenly separated. One of them, Laura, will leave with her three children to reunite with her husband after twelve years of forced separation. The other, Berta, must stay with her husband Antonio and their two young daughters since they have not been allowed to leave.

After Laura's exodus, Berta and her family become enemies of the state. Many of their neighbors, and even family members, turn their backs on them. For their "betrayal," the family faces the constant terror of being beaten, insulted, and even killed by violent mobs, encouraged by Castro's government. The family fears for their lives.

The family faces a constant struggle to stay together and survive, a struggle that robs them of their sleep, health, and energy and threatens to destroy what little they have left.

They must do everything they can to get off the island together and save their lives.