la matresse est inquite le photographe sponge le front le bouillon devient tout rouge les mamans ont mauvaise mine les papas font les guignols le directeur part la retraite quant linspecteur il est reparti aussi vite quil tait venu pourtant lcole ou en famille geoffroy agnan eudes rufus clotaire maixent alceste joachim et le petit nicolas sont presque toujours sages for all the ten years of her life h has only known saigon the thrills of its markets the joy of its traditions and the warmth of her friends close by but now the vietnam war has reached her home h and her family are forced to flee as saigon falls and they board a ship headed toward hope in america h discovers the foreign world of alabama the coldness of its strangers the dullness of its food and the strength of her very own family