The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Pin, Cecile. Wandering Souls. Henry Holt and Company, 2023.

Cecile Pin's Wandering Souls is a diasporic novel spanning multiple generations and continents. The novel begins in Vietnam in 1978 and ends in England in 2022. Written from both the first and third person points of view, Wandering Souls traces the stories of Anh, her two brothers Minh and Thanh, and her daughter Jane at the time of and in the years following the Vietnam War. While the novel's unconventional narrative structure enacts the author's central themes, the following summary employs the present tense and a linear mode of explanation for the sake of clarity.

When Anh is 16 years old, her mother and father are determined to leave Vietnam for the United States. They assure Anh and her six siblings Minh, Thanh, Dao, Mai, Van, and Hoang, that a new life in America will grant them the future that they want and need as a family. After their final night together in Vung Tham, Anh's parents send Anh, Minh, and Thanh ahead to Hong Kong.

Although Anh, Minh, and Thanh make it safely to the Kai Tak refugee camp in Hong Kong, Anh's parents and four other siblings do not survive their journey. Off the coast of Thailand, they and their fellow Vietnamese refugees are attacked by a band of fishermen. The victims the fishermen do not kill drown in the sea during the tragedy.

After learning about their parents' and siblings' deaths, Anh, Minh, and Thanh are forced to reorient to their new lives on their own. Anh immediately assumes the role of her brothers' parent and protector. She quickly learns to dispel her own wants, needs, and feelings, so as to focus on her brothers' care. Although Kai Tak offers them temporary safety, the camp becomes increasingly unsafe over time.

When the UN officer Mr. Barnett informs Anh and her brothers that they will be relocated to the United Kingdom, the siblings cannot help but feel disappointed. They had dreamed of moving to America. However, when they reach Sopley Refugee Camp in Hampshire, they are relieved to be in a new country and environment. Over the course of their time at Sopley, the siblings build relationships with characters including Duc, Ba, and Bianh.

The siblings' fieldworker helps them find an apartment in London's Catford district. The apartment is the first place they have been able to call home since leaving Vietnam some years prior. Over the course of their first 12 months in Catford, Anh does her best to make the apartment a refuge.

When London businesses begin outsourcing their seamstress work overseas, Anh pursues a new career in accounting. Through her job at an accounting firm, she meets Tom. The two start dating. Tom is the first person with whom Anh opens up about her family, her loss, and her past.

Tom and Anh get married and start a family together. They create a life in England's Peckham district with their three children Will, Lily, and Jane.

The year that Ba dies, Jane returns to Peckham for the funeral. She ends up staying with her family through the holidays, too. Having recently embarked upon an extensive research and writing project, Jane is eager to connect with Anh about her past. Jane ultimately encourages Anh to connect with her family in the States. This connection leads Anh and her family to recover their family members' remains from the Kai Tak cemetery, and to give them a final resting place in Vietnam.