Isabel Moreno crosses the border into the United States, thinking only of making enough money to save her deathly ill mother. In Philadelphia, she finds comfort in her cousin Martin and is embraced by his neighbors, Gloria and Maurice. She is surprised to find a new family far from home, but even more surprised to fall in love with the one man that could put her right back where she started, Christopher Fox, an immigration agent. Faced with an ultimatum, Isabel is forced to question her loyalties and choose between her freedom and the love of her life.

Eight people unknowingly form a circle – either through a friendship, attempted love, or brief sexual encounter. The tighter their circle gets, the more the spokes begin to twist and to bend.