This story follows a Filipino family living in California. The two brothers Gabe and Tomas each deal with their difficult lives in different ways. Gabe, the younger, more sensitive brother (also the narrator of the novel) helps him mother with errands and keeps to himself. Tomas however, still feels an incredible amount of anger and hatred toward his father who abandoned them, and Tomas quickly finds himself involved in a gang. Tomas begins raising attack dogs and selling them to celebrities who enjoy illegal dog fights.
For Tomas, the gang life solves a lot of problems, but Gabe sees the the danger of a criminal life. To Gabe, the most pressing issue is just continuing the difficult process of adapting to a new environment (they moved from the Philippines). Uncle Betino even offers the boys a chance to return, but Ika (the mother) depends on Gabe and Tomas for company; she has no friends in America. Gabe helps Ika and Tomas to get along better, but sometimes, Tomas physically assaults him. Eventually, Gabe runs away by stealing Tomas's car, which breaks down before he can get very far.
Gabe calls a tow truck, but when it shows up, the driver is a bigot. The racist driver insults those who don't or can't learn English, and Gabe thinks of his mother who has a hard time speaking English. When Tomas finds Gabe, he exploits his brother for his mistake, forcing him into the life of crime he was hoping to avoid. Eventually, the two find a real gang to join, and although Gabe resisted the life of a criminal, eventually he comes to peace with the ethical dilemma, and when Ika tries to send them back to the Philippines after all, they choose to stay.
