Stella and Harry are affluent, cosmopolitan teenagers who are part of the enormous wave of "parachute students" from chinese mainland enrolling in U.S. private schools. Shot over three years in China and the U.S., MAINELAND tells a multi-layered coming-of-age tale, following this buoyant, fun-loving girl and introspective boy as they settle into a boarding school in blue-collar small-town rural Maine. They come seeking a Western-style education, escape from the dreaded Chinese college entrance exam, and the promise of a Hollywood-style U.S. high school experience. But as their fuzzy visions of the American dream slowly gain more clarity, their relationship to home takes on a surprising new aspect.