Xing, a 12-year-old first-generation Chinese-American, desperately wants to realize her self-worth and fit in with her white classmates. She befriends Emily, who invites her into her family, where Xing experiences everything that she wishes her family could be. Meanwhile, Xing has to spend her days caring for her ill mother in a Chinatown Single-room-occupancy family. Xing despises her mother and all the obstacles in life caused by her illness. In the end, she realizes the real world's rules and returns to her family, discovering that her mother is the root of her spirit and love.