Everyday life in the Colombian city of Cartagena is tough. It is even harder for the orphaned Pedro and his little sister Juanita to fend for themselves. Cruelly exploited and abused, the two children are forced to beg for the crime lord Diablo. When he has a friend of theirs murdered, Pedro and Juanita flee in a panic. The fate of children in the Third World: This book realistically and thrillingly depicts how two siblings manage to break the vicious cycle of misery.