In chapter 2, we learn that Danny's plan for the summer is to "save his money and fly to Mexico." In Mexico, he plans to find his father and "spend some quality time with him." Danny hasn't seen his father for three years. The last time he remembers them being together, they were sitting on the steps outside their old home. He recalls that his father sat in silence, his head down and "a beer dangling from his dad's right hand." The morning after, Danny's father was gone.

Danny thinks it will be easier for him to save money to get to Mexico if he spends the summer in National City, rather than in San Francisco with his mother and sister. He also plans to spend the summer in National City because there, he can visit his father's side of the family. He hopes that he can form a better understanding of his father from talking to his father's side of the family.