In the aftermath of the Balkan Wars in the early 1990's, Lana and her brother Darko are just two of the countless refugees who left their country illegally in search of a better life. Darko's past in the underworld of their homeland allows him to secure illegal passage to America, and he offers to take Lana with him. Once in Chicago, they lose each other for two years, and when Lana is reunited with her long lost brother she struggles to maintain her grasp on the only family she has left. Pursuing her simple version of the American dream--a new life, friends, job--she is instead pulled into the life of crime that Darko inhabits. They exist the only way he knows how: on the fringes of society, inhabiting the darkest regions of America's underbelly. He takes advantage of Lana's innocence, capitalizing on her desire for a family in this foreign land. Ultimately, however, Lana must take control of her own destiny, choosing for herself how to make her dreams come true.