Marcus is big for his age, and although he is a gentle giant, kids are afraid of him. He runs a service business out of school based on the fear factor associated with his size. The most profitable involves escorting bullied kids to and from school. He uses the earnings to help his mother, struggling single parent of Marcus and his little brother, Charlie, who has Downs Syndrome. Their father is a deadbeat who abandoned them and returned to Puerto Rico, his homeland, when Marcus was very young

Marcus gets into a fight with a bully who makes fun of his brother and the principal finds out about his enterprises. The principal suspends Marcus and suggests that Charlie would be better off in a special needs school. Mom tries to bring her family together by taking the boys on a low-budget vacation to Puerto Rico where they can stay with the family of Marcus’s father

Marcus sees this as a chance to reconnect with his father. He gives his father the benefit of the doubt and believes that when they get together, his father will want to help the family financially and be a part of their lives. Marcus gets an email address and writes his father before and all during their trip but never receives an answer. Marcus meets many loving family members all over the island who show him, his mom, and brother around and offer him support. Marcus asks everybody about his father, but he seems to have fallen out with them all. The family paints and unfavorable picture of his father, who has big ideas but never follows through with anything. Marcus wants to believe that his father is misunderstood.

It takes a while, but Marcus finally meets his father and realizes that what everyone has been telling him is true. But he has family in Puerto Rico that really cares about him and a mother who is his true hero.

To learn more about award winning author Pablo Cartaya, visit his website at: http://www.pablocartaya.com/