Jimmy is a guitar prodigy, wears hair long to cover scars, and walks with the wide swing of a drop-foot. The lanky, six foot musician is known on the east side as "Ojotriste," the mariachi with one sad eye--the legacy of a horrific accident that resulted in a beautiful but heartsick glass-eye. He has made a living since childhood with two other boys, serenading in the restaurants and bars from Mariachi Plaza to the famous Mercadito.

At twenty, each boy in the trio is hungry. Jimmy is the best working guitarist on the street, but he is still undocumented, disabled and living on tips....