Victor Flores, the protagonist of Crossing the Wire, is a Mexican teenager who lives with his family in the small farming village of Los Árboles. Victor’s father died working in the U.S., leaving Victor the “man of the family” (14). Victor feels a deep devotion to his family, and when he realizes that their corn crop will not provide enough money for them to survive, he decides to cross the border to the U.S. to find work.

Victor is slow and cautious, character traits that earn him the nickname “Turtle.” Over the course of the novel, however, it becomes clear that Victor is willing to take calculated risks if it means he will be able to support his family. The primary risk is attempting to cross the border in the first place, though Victor doesn’t feel he has any other choice. Along the way, he takes countless other risks, including befriending strangers, jumping aboard a moving train, and building a lean-to in a mountain snowstorm. Sometimes the risks pay off, such as when he convinces Miguel, an older and more experienced border crosser, to let Victor follow his route. Other times, these risks fail, such as when he gets caught hiding inthe back of a fisherman’s truck.