Allie Fox—a brilliant inventor and stubborn idealist—uproots his family for a dangerous quest through Mexico to flee the U.S. government and find safety.

The greatest explorer of the Americas, German scientist Alexander von Humboldt, narrates his voyage to New Spain in 1803 as he prepares his magnum opus Cosmos for publication from his library in Berlin. During his journey, he discovers Mexico’s extraordinary biodiversity; its mineral, volcanic, architectural, and pre-Hispanic richness; and its profound inequalities.

Spain, 1937. Ramón Mercader, a young communist combatant, is recruited and trained by the Soviet intelligence service to participate in a top secret mission ordered by the ruthless dictator Joseph Stalin: the assassination of his former political rival, Leon Trotsky, who is living in exile in Mexico.

Mica is born smelling of fish that soap and doctors can't remove. Problems increase starting school as no one'll be his friend. He sees a therapist. His life seems doomed until he meets Laura.