On the day George W. Bush took his oath as the 43rd President of the United States, I began my life as an illegal alien. It was a conscious decision and it felt a lot like I was crossing a line, invisible to others, though unmistakable in the eyes of the law. But this is America, I thought: life follows a diff erent kind of logic here.” Nicky F. Rompa is a twenty-something Indonesian immigrant who comes to America with a bag of unresolved issues. To get away from his abusive father back home, Nicky goes on to stay with his relatives in Boston. Pretty soon, it seems as though he is living the dream: he meets a beautiful Russian girl, goes on road trips, gets a job, and fi nally experiences the America he had only seen on TV before. Yet, like any dream, it ends. And he is left with the choices of either going home or sticking around while hoping — against all odds — that the dream will return. Originally written in and translated from Bahasa Indonesia by Maggie Tiojakin, one of Indonesia’s emerging literary stars, Winter Dreams is a modern cautionary tale of a broken man in a broken country. Set against the backdrop of a full-on battle waged against illegal immigrants in the U.S. following the horrific events of 9/11 — told in restrained, understated and compelling prose — this is a story that off ers a fresh, poignant look into the invisible lives of sojourners.