Seventeen-year-old Sean Galway is brought to Los Angeles from the Midwest by his mother Rhonda after the death of his father. In the midst of the barrio, in 1970's Southeast Los Angeles, Sean has problems adjusting to the new culture. His mother has changed in personality and demeanor and is living a life of prostitution and drugs. Sean is confused and searching for hope. He meets Trinidad an elderly octogenarian illegal alien who tries to reach Sean through his dichos and metaphors from his garden. Will Sean discover the hope that lies within the garden or will he succumb to the police corruption, gangs, drugs, and criminal elements of the streets of Los Angeles.