Of Dubious Origin

Unemployed despite his associate’s degree, Israel Cruz has been living in his parents’ unfinished basement, playing video games and scrolling social media. He is obsessed with a Portuguese influencer and supermodel known as M&M; her bikini-clad posts about eyeliner and lip gloss may have contributed to his passion!

Born to a Puerto Rican father and a Jewish mother, Israel is constantly mistaken for a wide assortment of ethnicities, from Albanian to Turkish. The question of his identity “slapped him in the face every time someone asked him about his origins, if he spoke Punjabi, if he followed the Argentine Primera División, if he knew where to find halal.” The combination of his uncertainty about himself and his desire to woo M&M leads to a decision: he will move to Portugal and become Portuguese! And to make it happen, he ropes his brother into the adventure.

The only problem is Israel can’t afford a trip overseas. In this humorous satire about the quest for identity, Israel and Judah find work on a ship in the Transporti Maritime Line. All they have to do is help in the kitchen and run “errands” at various ports. Israel sees it as a budget cruise. All too soon, the brothers are on their way to Portugal’s Azores islands—blissfully unaware that they are caught up in shady dealings that could land them in prison!