End of a Dream: The Conversation

Joe and Alice migrate from India to the United States along with their five- and three-year-old daughters, dreaming of providing the girls with a good education for a bright future in the land of opportunity. Alice, a registered nurse, finds work easily, but as a high school graduate, Joe can only work as a stock clerk in a junk yard, thanks to help from Uncle Robert, a fellow Indian immigrant who is the supervisor at the junk yard.

Working odd shifts day and night, Joe and Alice sacrifice everything, even their family life, for the sake of their children. Their dreams are on track until the oldest daughter, Annie, enters high school. As she embraces an American lifestyle, her parents are in for a culture shock. When she starts dating a non-Christian Hindu boy, her behavior flies in the face of their orthodox customs and beliefs. One night when Joe is fed up, tired, and angry, he slaps Annie, and she calls 911 to have her father arrested for abuse. Annie's rebelliousness continues no matter what her parents do, throwing Joe and Alice into a downward spiral out of which there seems to be no escape, and ultimately leading to the shattering of their precious dream.