Tommy is part of a posse, a group of six seventh-grade students who have been friends forever. He leads this posse in a neighborhood effort to slow down traffic on his street where a deaf girl lives. Meanwhile, Tommy’s mother leads a protest march called “A Day for Vincent Chin” in the state capitol. Chin, a Chinese man, was beaten to death by racist auto workers, who mistakenly assumed he was Japanese. Tommy, who more than anything wants to fit in, dislikes his mother’s leadership role because it draws attention to the fact that they are Japanese Americans. After the posse solves the speeding problem, Tommy comes to understand that, like himself, his mother is doing what she needs to do to improve the lives of others.