Sara (Julia Stiles) is a small-town girl with a big dream: to become a world-class ballerina. But when her mother suddenly dies, Sara must abandon her plans and join her estranged father (Terry Kinney) on Chicago's gritty South Side. A white girl in a predominately black neighbourhood, Sara feels out of place – until she is befriended by a black classmate, Chenille (Kerry Washington), and her handsome brother, Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas).