On June 6, 1993, the coastal freighter Golden Venture ran aground in New York City with the largest shipment of illegal aliens ever recorded, as a Chinatown gang tried to smuggle 286 Chinese into the US. This film follows four of the ship's passengers, who survived the sinking and a long subsequent imprisonment, in their present lives. One deported to China, one in New York, another in Florida, and one who remained anonymous to avoid deportation. They have had problems with the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), and the lawyer and paralegal who aided in their release from prison tell their part of this tale of woe and hope that spans over ten years.