The story is centered on the immigrant experience, and gives us a glimpse of the struggles faced by the children left behind. Reyna, the young protagonist, is born in Mexico and raised by her grandparents after her parents leave to find work in the U.S. Grande describes her difficult childhood, after being abandoned by both her parents. Her older sister Mago takes on a maternal role for her two younger siblings, Carlos and Reyna. When reyna is about 10 years old, she enters the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant to live with her father. She quickly realizes that life in America isn’t what she dreamed it would be.