Tonya and Tony hear the awful news from their father that they're leaving their life in New York to start his new job in California, and they take the news back. They do everything in their power to manipulate the move but cannot, and are forced to go through their first plane ride, and are introduced to sunny skies, uptown houses and people who stand three inches next to you but don't want to steal your purse.

Tony and Tonya find their friend from New York, Read Preston is coming to California to live after her mom is put into jail for consecutive drug posession. At school, Read manages to act like the bad alley cat, while Tony and Tonya try to stop her. After Read sets them straight on acting like uptown classes, the brother and sister realise how much they've changed and are undecided on whether they'd rather be loyal to the home in the Bronx and be some backstreet kids from the wrong side of town or the polite, reasonable kids who would have fun