Plot: Bui Doi ('less than dust') is the so-called minority of Viet Namese children with U.S. G.I. fathers. Binh is a "Bui Doi", living a sad and lonely existence in the countryside with his family. He's a shy and quiet young man, carrying a complex about his appearance. The only memory about his father is a photograph from his childhood. One day, Binh decides to leave the countryside and look for his mother, who works in Saigon as a maid in a residence. There, Binh will testify his mother's hard existence and discovers that he has a little half-brother. A fatal accident will be the beginning of a life full of complications for Binh. He will have to run away with his little brother in a long journey, ending up in a prison for illegal immigrants in Singapur, where he meets a Chinese girl, Ling, who is forced to prostitute herself in order to gain some special favors from the guardians. Later, Binh will find himself heading to North America in a boat captained by a kind smuggler (Tim Roth), dedicated to the traffic of illegal immigrants. However, in the U.S., Binh and Ling will have to face the reality of illegal immigrants at China Town in San Francisco, before he finally arrives Houston, Texas, where he believes his father is living.
Alternative Plot: A Vietnamese youth (Damien Nguyen) of mixed race undertakes an arduous journey to the United States to find his American father (Nick Nolte).
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