Impulsively, Ko (ever the exhibitionist) decides one day that if the Wakatsuki clan must return to the world, they will do so in style. Purchasing a "midnight blue Nash sedan" in Lone Pine, he restores his self-esteem by repatriating his family his way—even if it means making three trips for family members and belongings over the 225 miles from Owens Valley to Long Beach. To the surprise of Jeanne and her mother, the feared predictions of racism prove untrue. Like refugees, the Wakatsukis drop their fears of ostracism and turn to the pressing need for housing, which consists of scraps and oddments—"trailer camps, Quonset huts, back rooms of private homes, church social halls, anywhere they could fit."
Again, Quakers help them; this time, they locate an apartment in Cabrillo Homes, a government-built project in west Long Beach. Mama collects her kitchenware and silver from former neighbors in Boyle Heights; however, the warehouse which stored their furniture and appliances has been "unaccountably 'robbed."' Without essentials, including Ko's boats, the family "[starts] over from economic zero." Reflecting on her father's losses, Jeanne, sensitive to the male achievement drive, labels them "another snip of the castrator's scissors." While Ko pursues idealistic plans of creating a Japanese housing project, Mama pragmatically applies her $500 in savings to current needs and returns to fish cannery employment.
For eleven-year-old Jeanne, an unsettling first day in school begins with an innocent gaffe—Radine, a white classmate, is surprised that Jeanne can speak English. Jeanne decides to do her best and absorb rejection by blaming herself for failure, including exclusion from Girl Scouts, a whites-only group run by snooty mothers. Undaunted by the turn-down, Jeanne and Radine become buddies; Radine rebuffs others' racist stares, Jeanne teaches her to twirl a baton. Expertise leads to Jeanne’s acceptance as lead majorette with a Boy Scout drum and bugle corps, supported by a pack of admiring fathers.
Maturation forces a wedge between Jeanne and Ko, who insists that his daughter follow the female ideal of his Old Country youth rather than the American image of the late 1940s. Ruefully, she castigates herself: "I had lost respect for Papa." In the struggle to assert his masculinity, Ko joins Woody in a plan to dry and sell abalone. Initially, the venture seems hopeful, but eventually it goes "to pieces." The failure of the scheme further depletes Ko's sense of manhood as Woody assumes more importance to the family and Ko returns to alcohol, an addiction which shames and troubles Jeanne. The most crushing embarrassment comes at a PTA awards dinner where Ko, overdressed and over-formal, humiliates Jeanne by executing "a slow, deep, Japanese bow from the waist" when she is recognized for her scholastic achievement by the principal.
