Rebecca ("Becca") Warner moves from her small South Dakota farm town to attend college at the fictional University of Los Angeles. On her first day, she and her parents Walter and Connie meet Crawl, the resident advisor of Becca's coed dormitory. After they leave, the clash of cultures causes Becca to consider returning home, but Crawl convinces her to give the college a chance. She soon begins to acclimate, cutting and dyeing her hair, dressing in a Californian style and even getting a tattoo of a butterfly on her ankle. Becca invites Crawl to spend the Thanksgiving break with her family back home.