Even though life is hard, thirteen-year-old Lupita always tells her family that things will get better tomorrow, mañana. When her father dies in a fishing accident, she and her older brother Salvador leave Mexico to find work in the United States. Their journey by foot leads to backbreaking work, shock when Salvador abandons Lupita, and constant fear of la migra (U.S. immigration police). Beatty, who is not of the same background as her characters, relied on interviews with Mexican immigrants to cull the details of Lupita's story. While this revelatory view of the lives of illegal immigrants to the U.S resonates strongly with current conditions, some elements of the story may seem judgmental to contemporary eyes.

Crossing over the border is a dangerous business......But Lupita must cross from Mexico to America. After her father dies in a fishing boat accident in the seas near their small Mexican village, Lupita's family is left in poverty. Lupita and her big brother, Salvador, must smuggle themselves into the United States to earn money to support their mother and young siblings.

America is not the land of opportunity they had hoped. A new language, hard labor, and the constant threat of" la migra" -- the immigration police--make every day a difficult challenge. But for feisty Lupita, there is always hope for a better manana -- tomorrow.