Elvis Valderez is a twenty-one year old dreamer who has just been honorably discharged from the US Navy. With his duffle bag and rifle, he travels back to his hometown of Corpus Christi, TX where he intends to seek out his father -- a man he has only heard about from his Mexican mother, who has since passed away.

Elvis quickly discovers that his father, David Sandow, is now the pastor of a thriving Baptist church, and has a family of his own -- a beautiful wife, Twyla, and two picture-perfect children, Malerie and Pau. While seeking out his father at church, Elvis unwittingly strikes up a conversation with sixteen-year old Malerie and there's an immediate, unspoken attraction between them.