The series documents a crowded fishing boat carrying 49 Vietnamese refugees drifting in the Gulf of Thailand after fleeing the political and religious persecution that followed the fall of South Vietnam.
When the boat attempted to land on the coast of Thailand, Thai marine police refused to let them come ashore and towed the vessel back out to international waters, casting them adrift to face resource shortages, storms, and the threat of pirates.
The misery, exhaustion, and despair were so absolute that not a single child smiled