1979. Topper and Sanya flee to Miami as political violence consumes their native Kingston. But they soon learn that the welcome in America is far from warm. Trelawny, their youngest son, comes of age in a society which regards his racial ambiguity with suspicion, while their eldest son, Delano, becomes ever more reckless in his longing for a better future.

As the brothers battle the many obstacles in their path - an unreliable father, racism, a financial crisis and Hurricane Andrew - they find themselves increasingly pitted against each other. Will their rivalry be the thing that finally tears their family apart?