Santa Barbara, California. Raised by her strict Mexican grandma, Ri FerÔandez has never been allowed to learn Spanish. She has always been pushed away from the neighborhood they call home and toward her best friend's world of mansions and country clubs in the hopes that it will bring Ri closer to achieving the "American Dream." Her mother disappeared when Ri was young, so when Ri finds an unanswered letter from her mom begging for a visit, Ri decides to reclaim what her grandma kept from her: a language and a mother. When nothing goes as planned, Ri struggles to navigate the different interweaving threads of her mixed heritage that make her who she is.