Davis has written this true to life novel to delineate the difficulties faced by immigrants in America through the story of four immigrant boys Oscar Vazquez, Lorenzo Santillan, Cristian Arcega, and Luis Aranda whose parents emigrated from Mexico. They arrive in America with the hope of finding a better future for their children. The author describes the irksome incidents overcome by them by narrating these four boys reveling curiously in building a robot by using the spare parts of old cars in the underwater robotics contest held by MATE in the year 2004.
Even though the boys are eagerly striving to win in the contest, Davis attempts to display that they have undergone numerous problems like racism, politics, and constraints as a settler. The writer compares their battle in building the robot with how the immigrants from various countries in the US undergo the hardships.
They are motivated by an immigrant teacher Fredi who emigrates from Iran. Fredi teaches them to create robot through physical activities. Another teacher Allan Cameron, who at first served in the Navy, additionally shows them some strategies in developing the robot. These two teachers instruct them to create a robot by following offbeat strategies because those immigrant boys who have a poor financial background unfit to bear the cost of additional in making a robot. It is observed that throughout the novel the boys follow their techniques to assemble their robot. Davis through this portrays that the immigrants cannot learn efficiently to enhance their academic skills without spending more money.
