"A stranger-than-fiction story based on the real-life experiences of a young boy who was smuggled out of Ethiopia amid political unrest to start a new life from nothing in Calgary, Alberta."-- Tesfaye lives behind the safe walls of his family's compound in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His father is an important man, Tesfaye goes to one of the best schools in the city, his mother and older sisters keep him fed and cared for. When rebel forces take over the capital, life becomes more complicated. When his father is arrested, Tesfaye's own life is in peril. Put in the care of a human smuggler, Tesfaye embarks on an uncertain, confusing and terrifying journey through Kenya, Europe and finally to Canada. He is sheltered by fellow expats, threatened by the authorities, shunted from a group home to foster care... and wondering whether he will ever know what has happened to the family he left behind. -- adapted from jacket