Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism and bullying.

When their parents divorce, Miguel Guzmán and his little sister, Juanita, leave their home in New York City and move into a Vermont farmhouse with their mother during Christmas break. The farmhouse’s age and peeling white paint make it look haunted to Juanita. Miguel struggles to make friends at his new school, and he feels like an outsider because none of his classmates are Latino. Mami works as a counselor at a local college. She often works late and is too tired to cook dinner, so the family frequents Rudy’s Restaurant in town. Rudy gives them three meals for the price of one in exchange for Spanish lessons.

Miguel’s mother wants the children to be cared for, so she invites Tía Lola to visit them from the Dominican Republic. On the night before her aunt’s arrival, Mami reminds them that Tía Lola speaks only Spanish. When memories of her ex-husband bring tears to Mami’s eyes, Juanita tries to cheer her up by speaking in Spanish and asking her questions about her favorite aunt. No one knows Tía Lola’s age, and she never married for reasons she doesn’t like to discuss.