In Michael Kang's compelling story about growing up, Ernest Chin (Jeffrey Chyau) is a Chinese-American teen who works in a seedy motel with his hard-nosed mother, grandfather and younger sister. With no male role model to turn to, Ernest must deal with the trials of adolescence on his own. Sam Kim (Sung Kang), a charming Korean American with a dark past, sees himself in Ernest and decides to mentor the boy, but things don't always go smoothly.