A renowned sociologist examines the pernicious societal forces that lead employers to exploit vulnerable domestic workers.

The phrase "human trafficking" often conjures nightmarish images of sexual exploitation, but Rhacel Salazar Parreñas reveals that the vast majority of trafficking victims are domestic workers—who suffer abuse not at the hands of shadowy crime lords but rather "ordinary" family employers. Drawing on twenty years of groundbreaking research across three continents, Parreñas exposes the grim realities faced by migrant workers ensnared in forced labor due to poverty and debt bondage. She uncovers how entrenched social and legal norms, coupled with a patronizing "employer savior complex," foster a troubling sense of ownership among employers over "their" domestic workers. Through powerful firsthand accounts, including harrowing stories of workers held against their will in the United States, Parreñas illustrates migrants' desperation and the power dynamics that often lead to modern-day slavery. Parreñas's urgent narrative challenges readers to confront uncomfortable truths about everyday household arrangements and calls for justice and fair treatment for all workers.