Desi plot
Desi is eleven years old and, like all other children her age, goes to school during the day. But she does not know where she will sleep at night. Desi's mother died when she was a baby. Her father Harry, a carefree toaster, lives with his new, feisty girlfriend Esther on a messy houseboat. Desi has a room there, but she often can't go there. Harry goes his own way, also to the chagrin of Esther, who likes to call him names. "I have a lot of people who love me," Desi says. She can go to Grandma, Harry's mother. Grandpa on her mother's side is also one of Desi's regular addresses.