Dottie Perez, a flamboyant refugee from Castro's Cuba, longs to fulfill her dreams of rock 'n' roll and John Wayne. Juan Perez is a political prisoner seeking to be reunited with his wife Carmela after a 20-year separation. While en route to the US during the 1980 Mariel boat lift, fate intervenes when a clerical error mistakenly lists Dottie and Juan as married. All they have in common is the same last name and their respective versions of the American dream, but Dottie finds that they really must become a family in order to stay in America.