Meet Justin Tolchuck, 16, who is simply trying to survive the social nightmare that is high school life in Medora, Wis. That just got a little more complicated, though, now that mom Franny has signed up to host an international exchange student -- who turns out to be, not Franny's anticipated athletic Nordic teenager who will bestow instant vicarious cool on her son, but a Pakistani Muslim named Raja Musharaff, also 16. Despite their striking cultural differences, however, Justin and Raja quickly develop an unlikely friendship that is sure to be the main topic around greater Medora.