In his debut novel, Roley details the Filipino immigrant experience through the troubled relationship between two brothers and their struggle to assimilate into the culture of Southern California. Gabe, the younger of the two, serves as his family's peacemaker, struggling to maintain good grades while hiding brother Tomas' dangerous activities from his mother. Tomas has adopted the Mexican gangster style of dress and breeds attack dogs that he sells to the Hollywood celebrities who inhabit the fringes of their lives. When Gabe runs away to Northern California, he finds temporary solace in the kindness of strangers: the tow truck driver whose chatty nature belies his own hidden pain; the tart-tongued diner waitress who has family problems of her own. However, when Gabe returns home, he must face the consequences from the increasingly violent Tomas.