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INTRODUCTION: The millions of undocumented workers taking to the streets today are the living history of Latin America. They are refugees from war and broken economies. They cross the border because they lack economic opportunity at home. El Salvador is one such place. A third of the country's population now lives in the United States. They send home $2 billion a year. That's the single greatest source of wealth for El Salvador, more than exports or foreign investment or aid. They are transforming their hometowns where many plan to return. Over the next two days, Marketplace will explore the complex bonds of love and money that connect these two countries. From the Americas Desk at WLRN, Dan Grech tells the story of a man who risked everything to head north.

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DAN GRECH: Every person of a certain age in El Salvador faces a choice. For longtime friends Francisco Castro and Luis Molina, that moment came in 1980, as El Salvador entered into civil war. They agonized for months over whether they should head to the United States. Late one night, Francisco knocked on Luis' door.

FRANCISCO: He was very surprised. He was already asleep. And I tell him, "Look compadre. Things come together in the last minute and I have to go. I just I just wanna come to say goodbye." It was a very sad moment for all of us. He say, "I understand. But I don't have the courage to follow you."

Unlike his friend Francisco, Luis decided to stay in El Salvador. He simply couldn't accept that the best way to help his family was by leaving it.

LUIS [TRANSLATION]: I couldn't imagine breaking up my family, leaving my children. You can't buy their emotional stability. I prefer to stay here and deal with the limitations.

But his friend Francisco wanted a chance at a better life. He also left behind his pregnant wife and their infant son. He spent 500 bucks to hire a coyote, a smuggler, to get him across the border. Francisco traveled by truck across Mexico and took off on foot in Baja California. As he crossed the desert, his toe got infected.

FRANCISCO: I was very sick with fever in the desert, with no water, no nothing. And I just prayed to God to help me out so I could make my dream come true. And if I do, I will be a better son to you, I'm gonna serve you better.

Three days later, Francisco limped across the border. After two years he became a resident of the United States. Then he brought over his wife and two sons. He found work as a handy man at a condo complex, the Fairfax Circle Villa.

Twenty-five years have passed and he still works there. He's risen to maintenance director of its 330 apartments. Francisco and his two grown sons also run a family construction business. During his lunch break he checks on a job.

FRANCISCO: [Door bell rings] Hello, anybody home? Francisco! . . . Castro Remodeling!

Over the years, Francisco's good name has spread. He has a yearlong backlog of projects.

Back in Chinameca, the farming village where Francisco and Luis grew up, children play in the town square. Luis watches them. Things have gone very differently for him. His chicken ranch and his trucking business went bust. These days he grows papayas. They're scattered on his living room floor like marbles, waiting to go to market.

LUIS [TRANSLATION]: I've never wanted opulence. I've always been humble and satisfied with what I have. I am educating my children so they have greater opportunities. And I have a house.

Years have passed, but Francisco hasn't forgotten his desert pact with God to help those he left behind.

FRANCISCO: My heart is in Chinameca. My mind is in Chinameca. Every day. Every day. There is not a day going by that I don't think about Luis, that I don't think about Chinameca. [The doorbell rings.] Sorry, but I have to write a check right now. Can you give me just a second?

It's 11 o'clock at night. One of Francisco's workers is at the door. The guy also changes oil full time at Jiffy Lube. This is the only time he can pick up his paycheck.

FRANCISCO: This guy is from Chinameca.

Francisco hires new arrivals from his hometown even if he doesn't need the extra worker. He helps Chinameca in other ways, too. He's given $50,000 of his own money in hundred-dollar increments. He's helped raise half a million more. The money went to repair a crumbling church, to install a septic tank, to open a tree nursery.

And Francisco gives money to Luis when times get tight. Money is a sensitive issue between these old friends. Luis is torn between gratitude and pride.

LUIS [TRANSLATION]: He's always helped us out. Last year, when they operated on my back, Francisco said, "I need to help." But he's always helped us out on his own initiative, without being asked.

In 2001, two earthquakes tore apart El Salvador. More than 1,000 people died. Francisco took his sons to Chinameca. They spent long, hot days digging through rubble and rebuilding homes. In the evenings, Francisco and his sons stopped by Luis' place for dinner. As the pupusas and frijoles were passed around, Francisco's son Mauricio and Luis' daughter Nelly exchanged glances. Francisco and Luis didn't notice those fleeting looks. But a budding romance was about to create cracks in Luis and Francisco's well-laid plans to retire together in Chinameca.

MAURICIO: When I found a girl like that it just hit me. It just felt right. It just felt right. So I went with it.

Mauricio fell in love with the girl next door. It just so happens the girl next door lives 2,000 miles away.

I'm Dan Grech for Marketplace.

Tomorrow, we see how bonds of this new love put Luis and Francisco's plans into question.