This is the story of Ana, a first generation Mexican-American teenager on the verge of becoming a woman. She lives in the East of LA and has recently graduated from high school. Her teacher encourages her to ask for a scholarship in one of the best universities in the country because she is an outstanding student. She knows her parents wouldn´t aprove it and she is torn between the traditional world she has been born into and her own wish to receive further education. Finally, she receives a full scholarship to Columbia University. However, her very traditional, conservative parents, especially her mother, feel that it is now the time for Ana to help provide for the family, not the time for college. Her mother´s aspiration to get her married annoy her.
Torn between her own ambitions and her cultural heritage she agrees to work with her mother at her sister's downtown sewing factory during the summer. There, she learns to admire the hardworking team of women who teach her solidarity and teamwork. At the same she teaches them to accept the way they look like. Meanwhile, she finds her first love, who deeply loves her exactly the way she is. Still at odds with what her mother expects of her, Ana realizes that leaving home to continue her education is essential for her to find her place proudly in the world as an intelligent and self-confident woman.
