In 1841, Manjiro Nakahama, a young fisherman at the age of fourteen, lived in a remote, poor fishing village in Japan.

After months staying on the island, Manjiro and his crew were rescued by Captain Whitfield, aboard the John Howland, an America whaleship.

In spite of the Japanese empire having portrayed foreigners as evil and barbarians, Manjiro was determined to see a new world through his adventure by stepping out of his comfort zone andleaving his crew members behind.

"[2] Roger Sutton had said, in The Horn Book Magazine that “the facts of Manjiro's life are inherently dramatic (later episodes include a stop at the Gold Rush, a mutiny, and a return to Japan), but Preus keeps her hero human-sized and empathetic, allowing readers to see and learn along with him the ways of a strange new world.

"[3] Michael Cart, the author of Young Adult Literature: From Romance to Realism, asserts that it is “a more mature, sophisticated, and artful historical fiction, one that is honest about the realities of history for older YAs”.

Preus discovered Manjiro's true story upon doing research for her previous picture book, The Peace Bell, at the local library in Japan.

She wrote Visions in Near-Sleep in 1983, and had co-authored with Lise Lunge Larsen for a picture book, Legend of the Lady Slipper in 1999 (ages 4–8).