Based on the true headline-generating story of the five-year-old Cuban boy who is the sole survivor of a refugee boat that sunk in a storm on its way to the U.S. Found clinging to a rubber tube by fishermen off the coast of Miami after being adrift for two days, Elian is rushed to a U.S. hospital and is soon identified as the only son of Juan Gonzalez, a loyal Cuban who was unaware of his ex-wife's risky defection plan. Placed in temporary custody of his great-uncle Lazaro in Miami, who vows never to return Elian to Cuba, this young boy soon becomes the center of an international media and political frenzy. Supported by attorneys and activists, Lazaro fights to seek permanent custody of Elian. But Elian's devoted father, backed by the Cuban nation, demands the return of his beloved son.