Anita de la Torre is a twelve-year-old girl living in the Dominican Republic in 1960. Most of her relatives have emigrated to the United States, her Tío Toni has disappeared, Papi has been getting mysterious phone calls about butterflies and someone named Mr. Smith, and the secret police have started terrorizing her family for their suspected opposition to the country’s dictator.

While Anita deals with a frightening series of events, she also struggles with her adolescence and her own personal fight to be free. Using the strength and courage of her family, Anita must overcome her fears and fly to freedom, leaving all that she once knew behind.