Marco Donnatti, the main character in the book, was an immigrant from Peru who came to the U.S. in 1963 with his wife and a baby daughter. The book tells the story of Donnatti's life and struggles during four decades of hard work while learning to adapt to the American way of life. In an interview with a Los Angeles reporter, he recalls his growing up in poverty in Peru, the dedication of his parents to make him and his brothers and sisters succeed in school, his adventures as a college student and as a soccer player. He then tells the reporter about his earning of a scholarship to do graduate studies at Cornell University and his return to Peru to work as a college professor. He then tells his troubles with the university administration because he dared to claim a legitimate promotion. When his documents were "lost," in 1962, he started looking for another job.
A year later, he received a job offer from the Institute of Nuclear Studies of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He then, secretly, applied and obtained an immigrant's visa and a green card from the U.S. Consulate in Lima. Thus, in December of 1963, he became "the immigrant." In Oak Ridge, Tennessee, he worked diligently in domestic and international radioisotopes training programs for college teachers and physicians.
He also tells the reporter about his becoming a workaholic, his personal life tragedies, and his opinions on life, science, music, philosophy, the economy, climate change, immigration, and his personal approach to preventive