Being the target of the school bully is bad enough. But to be in a new school in a country where she doesn't know the language is almost more than the shy fifth grader can bear. Elena longs to be back in Mexico in familiar and comforting surroundings. But her mother promised Elena's dying father that they would stay in this country and make a new life for themselves just as he had planned. Being called "Elena-Paina" and having her accent constantly mocked by class bully Greg is hurtful and embarrassing. Elena, with the help of a kind classmate and the new student teacher, overcomes these problems, the same problems faced by many children today, and gives a very unusual gift to her new friend, Mrs. Miller, the student teacher who helps her turn her life around.