It's 2013.
Esme, who has dreams of becoming an American, is raped in Honduras by a cartel member to force her to turn over her brother, who had been kidnapped by them but then escaped. She and her family have no choice but to make the dangerous journey to the United States.  After being cheated by a coyote, the whole family risks a hazardous ride on a train flat car and a desert crossing.
The cartel reaches far and Esme knows they have followed her at least through part of Mexico.
She and her brother Hugo are constantly at odds.  Even though he saw his friend tortured to death and has his own demons, Esme has little sympathy for her brother’s turmoil. When they cross the Rio Grande, Esme thinks her troubles are over.
But when the whole family is kidnapped and taken into forced labor by Texas vigilantes, Esme and Hugo must put aside their hostility, figure out how to escape their captivity, and successfully conquer the cartel member who has followed them to the United States.