Eighteen-year-old Yiorgos is desperate to escape the bounds of tradition and his father’s iron fist. As a child, writing poetry and roaming his beloved mountains on the island of Crete provided some reprieve, but now he is slated for mandatory military service. Instead, he stows away on a ship and heads for America. On board, chance encounters with an old sailor and a mysterious young woman set him on a path to Canada that will change his life forever.
 
"This is such an evocative book. . . Step into this story and enjoy being carried away." 
— Rhonda Douglas, award-winning author of Welcome to the Circus: Stories, and Some Days I Think I Know Things: The Cassandra Poems 
 
“Across the seas, across generations, through war and strife, the family in this compelling novel survives, even thrives on a love grounded in their native soil, the poetry of their language and culture, and the steadfast faith of their ancestors.” 
— Trevor Herriot, award-winning author of Grass, Sky, Song and Towards a Prairie Atonement