In the summer of 1928, an eleven-year-old American born son of Greek immigrants travels with his parents and siblings to Greece to visit their family village.  There, he witnesses the brutal murder of his father and grandfather by Albanian bandits who were directed out of revenge by "the man with a hole in his face."        

 

The young boy, his distraught mother, and two of his siblings return to the United States a year later, leaving behind one of his brothers in the hands of a wealthy uncle and aunt who turn out to be abusive and neglectful.  The younger brother runs away and jumps a ship as a stowaway, where he is taken in by an empathetic crew who helps him reunite with his family abroad.          

 

This is the true story of the author's ancestors.  He walks you through the process from start to finish of what it was like to be an immigrant in the 1900's and chronicles the banditry that plagued the countryside of Greece for decades.  It is a story of personal tragedy, revenge, and justice.  But most of all, it is a story of community and survival.