The film follows Haris, a hip, handsome Afghan-American artist who shows his work at a downtown Manhattan art gallery. His story explores the ramifications of leaving Afghanistan and living as a refugee in America. Haris seems to be an all-American guy except that he creates strange installations of hanging ropes, and suffers from terrible visions- of himself as a child in Afghanistan in traditional dress, of smoke and bombs, of his dead parents and the Russian soldier who shot them during the Soviet invasion. Haris embarks on a journey through the world of Afghan-Americans to learn more about their culture, and there he finds both humor and tragedy. He meets Sunny, an Afghan immigrant hot dog vendor, whose son is a would-be rapper, among others, and falls for Laila, a fashion designer who still carries the expectations of her traditional parents.