Ramon Medellin was fortunate to be able to leave the politics of Porfirio Diaz’s regime in the capital for a fertile valley in the state of Guanajuato, where he learned to be a rancher and
support his family. But he couldn’t avoid the impending violence forever, and soon the Revolution arrives at his doorstep, with federales fighting rebels in his peaceful valley. Soon,
his sons are scattered to the winds, seeking their fortunes during a time when bandits—whether government troops or rebels—roamed the land.
Each young man struggles with the opportunities and dangers thrown in his path, which ultimately leads north to the United States: Socorro is detained in a slave labor camp and nearly loses his
life, Jose ends up in Europe as the First World War breaks out and Felipe meets the love of his life in San Antonio while searching for his missing brothers. Ultimately, the family is reunited,
building lives for themselves and their families in Houston, Texas, and becoming entrepreneurs and pillars of the Mexican-American community.
Set in war-torn Mexico and segregated Texas in the early twentieth century, Sarabia’s debut novel depicts the experiences of many Mexican Americans whose forebears left the chaos and violence
of the Mexican Revolution in search of a better life in the U.S.
