Kayla, an underprivileged Japanese American 16 year old, endangers her promising future as an aspiring artist when she becomes involved with a drug dealer.

As Stitch, a runaway genetic experiment from a faraway planet, wreaks havoc on the Hawaiian Islands, he becomes the mischievous adopted alien "puppy" of an independent little girl named Lilo and learns about loyalty, friendship, and ʻohana, the Hawaiian tradition of family.