Nicolas Cordoba has attempted the incredible: smuggling his way into the United States in a submerged air pocket above the rudder in an oil tanker. He makes it in from port in his native Colombia to a frigid New York harbor, only to be discovered by frogmen working with the police and customs agents. This book is the true story of Nicolas Cordoba, his deprived background in Colombia, the hopes and dreams that led him to attempt so dangerous an entry into the land of plenty, and how his dream turned into the nightmare of incarceration for drug smuggling-a crime for which he claims complete innocence. In addition to detailing his dangerous journey, the book also gives a firsthand account of the years spent in prison and in the appeals process for his sentence. It is in prison that he meets and eventually marries his G.E.D. teacher, who has become the chronicler of his life and the advocate for his release. This is their story-Nicolas and Carol's. But even more so, it is the story of all those souls who brave the dangers of the high seas, the greed of unscrupulous smugglers of undocumented workers, and discovery by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, all to forge their way to a better life in this country.