Hugo Ayala has burned his bridges with the Colombian military by denouncing murders committed by his former officers. After surviving a bloody assignment in Yemen with an American security company, he completes U.

S. Army basic training.

But he's blocked from becoming a green card soldier by new anti-immigration laws. He stays on as an illegal, and joins the American Foreign Legion, an immigration rights group whose members have fought for the USA.

Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is detaining and deporting thousands of people, without due process. But now the communities being targeted include Hugo and others who know how to fight back.

The leader of the AFL has his own political backers and doubtful motives. As each side ratchets up the violence, American political unity starts to crack.

This gripping thriller draws on current events and little-known facts:- Many non-citizens serve in the US armed forces and as employees of American security contractors. For example, the second US Marine killed in action in the Iraq War was Guatemalan.

A recent MIT study of these green card soldiers is subtitled “Between Model Immigrant and Security Threat”. - Border Patrol agents “have gone from having one of the most obscure jobs in law enforcement to one of the most hated,” according to the New York Times.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deport people without due process, including US Citizens. - A recent Chicago Tribune op-ed describes how current how the current “struggles over immigration echo the conflict over slavery”.

Confrontations in Texas over immigration have been described as “civil war” in the New York Times. BTL comments on the novel from book blogs:“The really scary thing is that everything about this story is already true or could very easily become true.

” (Silver Dagger Book Tours)“very different and intriguing” (Midnight Book Reader)“a very compelling thriller with intriguing characters” (Defining Ways). .