THE PROMISED LAND is the story of Theodor, a Danish immigrant, who struggles to integrate into the American culture. It is his love-hate story; the awe, the wonder, the ecstasy of experiencing all things new, versus the stress of loneliness, the humiliation of being considered stupid, the agony of being shunned. He works with machines he knows nothing about, with people who speak a language that boggles his mind. Enamoured with American affluence, he strikes out on his own. He lives in a dugout, and plants his corn by hand. He is overjoyed with an unusually large crop, but when he attempts to sell it, the market has collapsed and he is reduced to sharing the grain with his animals. He becomes despondent, depressed. He wants to go home, but he cannot. He had come to America on someone else's papers...
