Based on Benjamin Alire Sáenz's YA novel, the film centers on the friendship between two teenage Mexican-American loners in 1987 El Paso who explore a new, unusual friendship and the difficult road to self-discovery.

When a murder shocks 1938 Los Angeles, Detective Tiago Vega and his partner Lewis Michener pursue the case during historic period of great change: from the construction of the city's freeways to the infiltration of Third Reich spies and the rise of radio evangelism. Set against the city's deep traditions of Mexican-American folklore, these powerful forces soon threaten Tiago and everyone he holds dear.

Lawyers seek justice for a group of Mexican-Americans being sent to prison. Based on the Sleepy Lagoon murder case and the zoot suit riots of 1940's Los Angeles.