Julian tries to catch the big fish on New Year's Eve but loses it, believing he has cursed his family.

The Garcia family departs Cuba while the little woman seals their house with the gold swallow pin still inside.

The brothers sneak into the sealed Garcia house at night, and Gordo retrieves the gold swallow pin from the pantry.

The little woman bursts into the boys' home and threatens to send them all to a government reform school.

Julian's mother reveals she has arranged for the brothers to travel to America alone through Operation Pedro Pan.

The brothers arrive at Camp Kendal in Miami and discover their old classmate Caballo controls the camp.

Caballo forces the brothers to sleep in a camp bathroom as punishment for defying him.

Julian finds Angelita and Pepe at the camp and learns the camp is nothing like his parents described.

Caballo manipulates the camp director into sending Gordo and Alquilino to an orphanage in Denver.

The camp kids stage a massive cafeteria food fight, singing the Cuban anthem to humiliate Caballo.

Julian traps Caballo under a collapsed bunk, escapes the camp, and heads to Tomas's boat in Miami.

Tomas reveals his plan to sail to Havana and rescue his parents and twelve other people trapped in Cuba.

Julian recalls a hidden pirate's channel, steering Tomas's boat past the coast guard to dock secretly in Havana.

The coast guard, alerted by Armando, rescues Tomas's failing boat and all passengers near Key West.

Julian reunites with his mother and brothers at his uncle's house in Connecticut.

Julian's story begins in Havana, where he fails to catch the big fish and fears he has cursed his family with bad luck. Political upheaval forces his family to send the brothers to a refugee camp in Miami through the covert Operation Pedro Pan. At Camp Kendal, the boys clash with a ruthless bully named Caballo, who eventually gets Julian's older brothers shipped to an orphanage in Denver. Alone, Julian escapes the camp and joins a Cuban man named Tomas on a daring mission to smuggle refugees out of Havana. The rescue succeeds, and the coast guard brings all passengers safely back to American shores. Julian finally reunites with his mother and brothers in Connecticut, ready to begin a new life.

The headline events of Julian's journey from Cuba to Connecticut.

Bebo explains the revolution to Julian using the metaphor of cracking eggs to make an omelet.

Gordo throws an almond at the little woman's son, escalating the conflict that ultimately forces the family apart.

Julian's father presses a box of valuable cigars into Julian's hands at the airport before the brothers board the plane.

A man immediately buys Julian's box of cigars for ten dollars as soon as the brothers land in Miami.

The camp director tells the brothers they will be split up and sent to different orphanages in different cities.

Alquilino lies about a coming uncle to buy time, and Julian steals cereal boxes to bribe Paco into forging a letter.

Julian publicly hands Caballo his drawing book in the dining hall to prevent his brothers from being sent away.

Julian picks tomatoes outside the camp fence and fixes Tomas's Toma-Tron machine using a trick Bebo taught him.

Angelita returns to rescue Julian from a group of threatening strangers on a Miami bridge after initially leaving him alone.

Julian meets Alejandro, a former Cuban doctor now working as a hotel dishwasher, inside Pirate Angel's restaurant.

Julian gets a bad feeling about Dog when Dog suspiciously admires Tomas's prized navigation compass.

Julian offers his mother's gold swallow pin to Tomas to pawn, providing the funds needed for the Cuba rescue mission.

Bebo appears in uniform at the Havana dock but declines Julian's invitation to escape, saying the revolution suits him.

Armando calls a television station with the rescue story, which alerts the coast guard to locate Tomas's boat.

Tomas's package arrives containing the gold swallow pin, and Julian's mother leads the whole family in applause for Julian.

While the main plot pushes Julian forward, the people and smaller moments around him shape who he becomes. From Bebo's omelet wisdom about revolution to his father's parting gift of cigars, Julian carries these lessons across the water. At the camp, he navigates the risky forged-letter scheme and the painful sacrifice of surrendering his drawing book to protect his brothers. On his own in Miami, he forms unexpected bonds with Tomas, Alejandro, and Angelita that prove essential to the rescue mission. The dangerous trip to Havana succeeds partly because of the generosity of friends like Armando and the restaurant owner who fund the journey. When Tomas returns the golden swallow pin, Julian's courage is finally recognized and celebrated by his whole family.

The supporting moments and key relationships that shape Julian's journey.

Gunshots interrupt the New Year's dinner as celebrating crowds announce Batista's departure and Cuba's revolution begins.

Julian's mother forces her children to watch the revolutionary riots, telling them never to forget what revolution looks like.

Julian's mother suddenly realizes her gold swallow pin is still inside the now-sealed Garcia house and cannot be retrieved.

Bebo reveals he is being sent to government engineering school and urges Julian to find his own path out of his brothers' shadows.

Gordo unexpectedly lets Caballo hit a home run during the baseball game to protect the brothers from retaliation.

Caballo posts a Saturday trip list with only Gordo and Alquilino, and Julian spots blue suitcases inside the departing station wagon.

Dolores gives Julian her son's old box of colors and urges him to fight Caballo democratically rather than with pranks.

Julian sneaks into the dormitory and loosens the bunk hoops above Caballo's bed using a borrowed screwdriver.

Caballo confronts Julian outside, crushes his pastel colors underfoot, and announces Julian will be sent away the next day.

Julian calls home hoping to warn his parents about the rescue plan, but the little woman answers and says they have left.

Julian reaches Bebo by phone and leaves a coded message about the rescue mission for his parents in San Miguel.

Ramirez reveals Julian's mother is waiting in Connecticut, but Julian chooses to complete the Havana rescue mission first.

Julian steers Tomas's boat alone through the dark water and narrowly avoids colliding with a large passing ship.

Dolores tells Julian that Caballo was sent to the Denver orphanage and now hides behind Gordo and Alquilino for protection.

Julian confronts a school bully but walks away after seeing fear in the bully's eyes, remembering Angelita's words about Caballo.

Julian's coming-of-age is marked by moments where he must choose between fear and action. From his mother insisting the children watch the revolution to discovering that the gold pin is trapped in a sealed house, early events force Julian to confront a world beyond his control. At the camp, small acts of resistance — loosening a bunk, forming a democratic group — build toward the independence Julian needs to survive on his own. His most defining decisions come in Miami, where he chooses to join the rescue mission over his own reunion and sacrifices his mother's treasured pin for strangers. At sea, his quick thinking saves the boat and proves he has grown into someone capable of leading, not just following. Back in America, walking away from a school bully shows his transformation is complete.

The key decisions, discoveries, and emotional shifts that define Julian's growth.