LILIANA (LILI) MARTINEZ, 17, Latina, is a senior at Automotive High School in Brooklyn, NY. She lives with her father, ARTURO, mother AVA, and sister ISABEL (14) in Spanish Harlem. Her father owns an auto body shop, where she works. That’s where her passion for cars began. She’s now obsessed with going to the University of Michigan to study automotive engineering. However, she is dismayed to learn from her guidance counselor how expensive Michigan is.

One afternoon while Lili is working on a car, the owner OSCAR (OZ) MALDONADO, 20, comes to pick it up. He’s surprised to see her fixing his car, but when he finds out she goes to Automotive High, he’s put at ease—he went there, too. He was a senior when she was a freshman. Lili’s father tells her that next time, they shouldn’t work on Oz’s car—there’s no above-board way it got so banged up.

Lili befriends the new girl at school, JAZMINE LEE, 16, Black. Jazmine asks Lili to come with her to a club in the city with her and her brother, JASON, 20, where they run into Oz, who is promoting the club. Oz gives Lili a ride home and tells her that he does street racing. He’s saving money to open a club. He says she could race, too, and takes her to a race in Queens right then and there.

Over the next several weeks, Liliana continues to lie to her parents, date Oscar, and street race in secret. Her success is good for her bank account, but her grades slip and her work at the shop suffers, too. One night, Arturo announces he’s taking Ava out to celebrate her getting into nursing school, forcing Liliana to babysit Isabel. Liliana takes Isabel with her to a race. She’s stunned when she loses, and even more so when police arrive. Oscar helps Liliana and Isabel escape, but the girls return home late, leading to a confrontation between Liliana and her parents. They ground her and forbid her from seeing Oscar.

Jaz finally gets her license and is excited to compete in her first race. Oz has dropped his car off to be fixed by Lili at Automotive High and he picks her up from school to take her home since she’s not supposed to be seeing him anymore. Lili tells him that she’s quitting racing because it’s too dangerous, and he’s like, that’s why it’s fun.

Lili sneaks out to go see Jazmine race in the far reaches of Brooklyn. Jaz wants to race Lili—she thinks it’ll be fun, but it’s going to be her first and last race, and Jason’s last, too. She also asks Lili if she thinks her brother could get a job at Arturo’s garage—her brother has become her legal guardian, and he needs some steady income. During the race, a stray motorcyclist ends up on the road, and Jazmine swerves to avoid him, hitting a fire hydrant and flipping her car and breaking her leg. Liliana and Oscar get taken to the police station. Arturo arrives and demands Oscar leave his daughter alone. Oscar insists he’s trying to change his life and has given up racing and is planning to return to school.

Liliana goes to court where she is sentenced to community service. Later, Liliana tries to give all her money to Jazmine, as she feels responsible for this accident.

Liliana gets into the University of Michigan, but she doesn’t get the financial aid she needs. Ava tells her that she and the guidance counselor applied to other colleges for Lili. Oz comes to visit her at the garage and she tells him about Michigan, and how she’s not even that excited about it anymore. After everything that’s happened, she’s not even sure she wants to build cars.

First day of college! Oz picks her up and drives her across town to Columbia on his way to City College. She takes her seat in her first class, full of older guys, and the professor calls on her to answer a question, certain that she won’t be able to, and of course she blows them away with her knowledge.