For twenty years Juan Raul Perez has been imprisoned in a Cuban jail under the Castro regime, his only crime being his outspokenness regarding the Castro government. During his time in prison Juan has thought of nothing other than his wife Carmela, who he was married to for six years, and his daughter Theresa. Suddenly, Juan is being released from jail, along with hundreds of other prisoners, under the Marielito boat lift program and sent to America's shores. Prior to Juan's imprisonment he had sent Carmela and Theresa to Miami to live while he stayed on in Cuba to watch over his dying father. As Juan arrives in Miami he is filled with a range of emotions. In the twenty years since he has been in jail he only received fourteen letters from Carmela, although he knows that the government most likely intercepted the other correspondence. Juan is filled with doubts about his relationship with Carmela. Has she waited all this time for him? While Juan is passing through immigration in Miami he is paired up with a sassy woman named Dottie Perez. Due to a misunderstanding due to their same last names, Dottie and Juan are paired up as a married couple. Dottie and Juan continue the ruse so that they will be treated more favorably as the try to enter the United States. As Juan is allowed to enter Miami he finds himself unable to shake off Dottie. Although Juan tells himself that all he wants to do is find Carmela, he finds himself oddly drawn towards Dottie. And when Juan comes face to face with Carmela and she believes him to be a bum/burglar, Juan becomes less and less convinced that his future lies with his wife, a woman who fails to recognize her own husband on sight.
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The review of this Book prepared by Sandra Calhoune
