Description

Working in the cane fields, 15-year-old Tar dreams of a better life beyond the shores of Trinidad. His goal of leaving the country for America or England is mainly driven by Uncle Sundar, an elder in the village who took him to work in the cane fields when he dropped out of school.
Set in the late 1970s, Uncle Sundar constantly tells the teenager that a better life awaits him abroad. Tar begins to believe this when a conflict between the government and sugar workers leads him and Uncle Sundar to losing their jobs.
Tar is later accused of stealing. Gambling offers him a form of fast money, and trouble. His parents send him to his aunt in Port-of-Spain to hide from the police. However, he returns after a month after failing to meet the rent.
Mala, a village girl he falls in love with, helps him through the process of getting to America, but when he gets there, he feels betrayed by Uncle Sundar. Nothing the old man promised turns to reality.
– Author Ryan Bachoo