You Iwamoto is a typical 20-year-old college student, but he reaches a point where he cannot deny that something very important is lacking in his life. He makes the decision to leave his family, and friends, take one year off from school, and goes abroad. This book is his diary as he travels throughout Asia, Africa and Oceania doing volunteer work.

Although the journey turns out to be more of a struggle than he ever could have imagined, with his eyes open and heart willing, Yu continually learns new things from each place he visits and every person he meets. He learns the true meaning of volunteering in Taiwan. In Bangladesh, he gets frustrated that he cannot do anything for the people but realizes that remembering what he sees is probably the best he can do for them at the moment. In India he grasps the essence of true love, and in Tibet finds out that anything is possible as long as thought is put in action. In the Near Middle East he becomes confused about what is real and what is not, and in Africa comes to understand what it means to be human. Finally, at the end of the journey, he discovers what he has been searching for.

This book offers no explanation of the historical or political backgrounds of the countries he visits. It is simply an account of what he sees, and how he thinks and feels. Yet, because of his keen insights, this book is more than an entertaining report of his travels, offering much information and encouragement to readers.