Part One of E. A. Vovsi's true story begins in the late 1930s, as Europe is engulfed by Nazi butchery, and a father plans for his family's escape to freedom. The agony of leaving family behind; the roadblocks that pop up along the way; the eventual dash across Scandinavia at the last precious moment; all this, as Hitler's hordes begin their methodical genocide, which will claim some six million Jews. Good planning, fate and blind luck all combine in a chilling set of circumstances as the family flees for America. Part Two of The Refugee recounts the challenges faced by a seven-year-old, growing up over a 16-year period, as he sheds his European roots on his way to becoming totally Americanized. The fate of a family caught up in events over which it has no control is finally played out in New York and in the American midwest, amid both devastating and uplifting circumstances.