When Kalia was young, she had to make do with ice cubes from the freezer instead of ice cream, she never got a new dress for the first day of school, and she has to settle for a piece of bone in her soup instead of meat. But she does have her grandmother, who tells her stories of Laos. When Kalia asks her parents for braces for her teeth and is told that they can't afford it, it is her grandmother who helps Kalia see that true beauty and riches are found in those we love the most.