Eleven-year-old MarÃa Luz and her family live on a small farm. This year their crop is poor, and they may not have enough to eat or to sell for other essentials, such as health care, school uniforms and books.
When MarÃa's father must leave home to find work, she is left in charge of their garden. Then a new teacher comes to MarÃa's school and introduces her to sustainable farming practices that yield good crops. As MarÃa begins to use the same methods at home, she too sees improvements, which allow her family to edge their way out of the grip of the greedy "coyotes" --- the middlemen who make profits on the backs of poor farmers. Little by little, the farms --- and the hopes --- of MarÃa and her neighbors are transformed as good gardens begin to grow.