When she is twelve years old, Sundara Sovann is brought by her aunt and uncle's family, along with her grandma, from Cambodia to America. Cambodia at this time is deeply entrenched in the war, so many refugees leave without warning. In Sundara's case, she's forced to leave without telling her parents or her best friend. During the voyage, her aunt's baby dies of malnutrition because it's a grueling journey.
In America, Sundara quickly begins to adapt to a new culture and lifestyle. High school is difficult for her because of the language barrier and the judgmental nature of her classmates. During the days, she works with her aunt for a farmed named Bonner. While working his fruit stand one day, she meets a football player her age, Jonathan. He's fascinated by her story, and the two become friends. Sundara likes him, but she has a difficult time opening up about her painful past. Sundara's aunt doesn't like Jonathan's influence as a white boy, so she makes Sundara promise to stay away from him. Sundara honors her wishes until she learns that her best friend from Cambodia, Chamroeun, died in the war. Then its all tears and tenderness with her new boyfriend.
Unfortunately, Sundara quickly learns that she's gotten ahead of herself with Jonathan. He has a girlfriend already -- Cathy Gates. After spending so much time with Jonathan, Sundara cannot understand what he sees in Cathy. The consequence of all their time together is that the entire school soon learns of their relationship, including Cathy who is extremely upset. She confronts Sundara and wins. Alone again, Sundara is forced to focus on adapting to America once more.
One day her cousin Ravy comes home from a football game and tells her that Jonathan got hurt. Naturally she visits him in the hospital where they share a sweet moment. He confesses that he really likes her and regrets staying with Cathy. Shortly after, Jonathan quits the team, much to Cathy's dismay. Compelled by Sundara's stories about Cambodia, Jonathan begins to obsess about helping impoverished people abroad and refugees in America. After a particularly rousing speech by his son, Jonathan's dad decides to go on a mission trip because he feels guilty for not having contributing to charity more. Jonathan really misses his dad and starts to withdraw from Sundara after this.
While Sundara laments her broken relationship, she spends more time with her Cambodian friend Moni. They go out to collect bottles together. When Sundara sees a broken doll in the trash, she has a flashback to when Aunt Soka's baby died on the ship. She has a hysterical fit after which her grandma becomes convinced that she's been possessed by the dead baby's spirit. All of her family relatives gather around her and pray for Sundara's release.
