Book excerpt: “Dodge takes us behind the headlines and introduces real people and their very real struggles yearning to breathe free. Page-turning [and] proactive.” —Craig McGuire, author of Brooklyn’s Most Wanted Kahassai fled the Ethiopian Red Terror that killed his father and hundreds of thousands of others, trekking through a snake-infested jungle while hyenas followed him at night. Georgette crossed the Congo while the Hutus and Tutsis struggled for control as millions of defenseless people were murdered and displaced. Asmi and Leela were children in Bhutan when soldiers burned their villages and drove out the Nepalese-speaking Hindus. Roy narrowly escaped Afghanistan after the Americans began bombing Kabul to drive out the Taliban. Mahn made it out of Vietnam only after his twenty-second attempt. Mohammed survived daily beatings when imprisoned in Syria, though many of his fellow prisoners died. What do these people have in common beyond tales of horror and hardship that caused them to flee their countries, leaving their homes, families, and previous lives behind? They all found a new place to live in Denver, Colorado, the “Queen City of the Plains.” In this timely and important book, author Robert Dodge describes the circumstances that caused these refugees to flee their homes and shares their experiences after they arrived in Denver. This is the refugee story behind the headlines and political posturing. This is what coming to America has meant to those displaced, as represented by various refugee communities that over the years have come to think of Denver, Colorado as home.