The following version of this novel was used in the creation of this study guide: Ma, Kathryn. The Chinese Groove. Counterpoint Press. 2023. Hardcover.

18-year-old Zheng Xie Li - referred to as Shelley throughout the novel - leaves his home in the Yunnan Province to chase his American Dream. With his father deep in depression after his mother’s death and his extended family treating him as an outcast, he believes that his rich Uncle in San Francisco will give him a place to live. Shelley dreams of becoming a poet for his girlfriend Lisbet, even though he has not seen her since she vanished after their breakup.

However, when he meets his Uncle Ted and Aunt Aviva, Shelley learns that his family only ever owned a small mini-mart, and Ted has sold it after the deaths of his mother Diana and son Eli. Kicked out after two weeks, Shelley spends time in a boarding house while going to a local college. However, she is thrown out of that when another immigrant agrees to pay more. His best friends Eddie and Paloma help them when they can, but Shelley eventually returns to Aviva and Ted’s house where he meets Ted’s father, Henry. Desperate for a place to live, Shelley agrees to take care of Henry. Over time, he learns that Ted and Henry’s relationship never recovered after Diana and Eli were killed. Still, Shelley builds a strong relationship with Henry, who pays for Shelley’s school.

Eventually, Henry’s friend and city supervisor Huntington spends more time at Henry’s house, claiming that he is a target of anti-immigrant gangs. Meanwhile, Shelley works with Eddie and Paloma on a new app that encourages people to deliver packages when they travel around the world.

However, when Huntington is revealed to have fraudulently used Henry’s home address to pretend he is still in the community, the conflict between Ted and Henry escalates. Ted, who is being investigated for fraud because Henry got him a job with Huntington, believes that Henry was involved. Henry, however, thinks that Ted will never listen to him and decides to leave for a community that their friends, Kate and Orit, moved to. Meanwhile, Shelley is devastated to learn that Lisbet has left him again, despite promising to move in with him. However, the arrival of his old friend Yu and her baby Ruth brings him, Ted, and Aviva new purpose.

Soon, Shelley’s cousin Deng - who refused to acknowledge Yu’s baby as his own despite being the father - arrives in California with Shelley’s father. There, it is revealed that Shelley’s father took out a loan from Deng and has been trapped in a cycle of repayment since. So, Shelley gives Deng the rights to his portion of the app, freeing his father so the two can return to China. Meanwhile, Henry tells detectives that he willingly housed Huntington, and provides proof of Huntington’s various scandals. This ruins his reputation, but Henry - who Huntington also lied to - is happy that Ted can move on with his life.

In the epilogue, Shelley reveals that his app idea earned Deng and his friends millions of dollars. Ted and Aviva helped raise Yu’s baby, allowing her to go back to school. Shelley, meanwhile, has married a woman in China and tells stories to his own daughter just like his parents did for him.