 "Bui Doi" (less than dust) is the so called minority of Vietnamese children with American fathers. Binh (Damien Nguyen) is a "bui doi", living a sad and lonely existence in the countryside with his family. He s a shy and quiet young man, carrying a complex about his appearance. The only memory about his father is a photograph from his childhood. One day, Binh decides to leave the countryside and look for his mother, who works in Saigon as a maid in a residence. There, Binh will testify his mother s hard existence and discovers that he has a little half brother. A fatal accident will be the beginning of a life full of complications for Binh. He will have to run away with his little brother in a long trip overseas, ending up in a prison for illegal immigrants in Singapur, where he meets a beautiful Chinese girl, Ling (Ling Bai), who has to prostitute herself in order to gain some special favors from the guardians. Later, Binh will find himself again overseas, heading to North America, in a boat captained by a kind smuggler (Tim Roth), dedicated to the traffic of illegal immigrants. However, in America, Binh and Ling will have to face a rough reality, illegal immigrant s reality at China Town, in San Francisco, before he finally arrives Houston, Texas, where he believes is living his father.