David is a small boy who has come by boat across the ocean to a new country. He has been separated from his parents, and has lost the piece of paper that would have explained everything. On the boat a man named Simon has taken it upon himself to look after the boy. On arrival they have been assigned new names, new birthdays. They know nothing about the customs of their new country. They know little Spanish, the language spoken there. They are people without a past. Simon wants to find the boy's mother. He feels sure he will know her when he sees her