It was 1980, and 21-year-old Ilie Irinici was lying in a marsh, hiding from police dogs, meters from the Yugoslavian border, trying to escape communist Romania. Thousands had tried before, but many were caught and imprisoned or murdered and buried in graves on the shores of the Danube River. But Ilie was desperate. His daring choice would lead to a life full of incredible coincidences, and the kind of uniquely Canadian love story that's written with plot points from all over the world.