Life gets turned upside down for Kimberlee and Aimee Fung when their family picks up and moves from cosmopolitan San Francisco to live with their grandparents in Bakersfield. Their father, Johnny, after leaving his well-paying job as a corporate executive is going to help out with the family business, a massage parlor called "Touch of the Orient", rumored to give more than just massages.

If the social pressure of starting a new high school in the middle of the school year wasn’t enough, Kimberlee and Aimee are only two of a handful of Asian American kids at North High. Kimberlee quickly makes friends with a street-smart girl named Tisa, but their friendship becomes strained when the popular girls take Kimberlee under their wing and don't approve of Tisa.

Kimberlee also gets approached by a couple of guys from the Art Club who are excited to see the Asian American girl join the sophomore class. She's hesitant to sign up until she meets Charlie, a cute Asian American guy who is the Vice President of the club. But when Charlie and the other guys ask Kimberlee if she needs a ride home in front of the popular girls and Kimberlee hesitates just a little too long, Charlie writes her off as a sell out.

At home, Kimberlee’s family life is just as complicated - her father is unhappy about working for the family business, her mother doesn’t get along with her sister, and Aimee is constantly depressed, often taking it out on Kimberlee. Kimberlee continues to be faced with tough choices as she searches for acceptance, discovering who she is and who she wants to be with her family, her friends and to herself.