Oscar and Maria Salazar, trapped in Mexico, are denied work visas to return to the U.S. Their plight is further complicated by the birth of a child, Angelina; their other two children, born at Love Orchard, are U.S. citizens. Oscar decides to enter the U.S. illegally. He and Maria, carrying Angelina, skirt death crossing the Arizona desert. Their journey is juxtaposed alongside that of Dobbe daughter Karen, a rising star in an arch-conservative law firm. The Salazar family arrives safely, until the authorities raid Love Orchard and order a deportation hearing for the now three-year-old Angelina. The case is taken to Washington by Karen, who, by opting to defend Angelina, befuddles her boss, makes up with her estranged father, and converts her conservative counterpart into her relatively liberal lover.