ABCD (American Born Confused Desi) focuses on a maturing Indian-American mother and her two twentysomething children who all live in New York City. Years ago, Anju (Madhur Jaffrey) chose to immigrate from India to American to raise her children in America. While she struggles to maintain her Indian cultural heritage and teach her children Hindu values, it is inevitable that her kids choose their own paths. Her beautiful daughter, Nina (Sheetal Sheth), is a cold, sexy, promiscuous, argumentative princess who rolls her eyes at almost everything, including the Indian traditions her mother holds dear.

The thought of arranged marriage repulses her, she openly curses Krishna and Kahina, and she rebuffs the palm reader that her mother invites to dinner. Anju's son, Raj (Faran Tahir), appears to embrace his Indian heritage and agrees to get engaged in an arranged marriage to a beautiful Indian woman. However, when Raj's white business partner gets the promotion that Raj deserved, and a white woman at work starts flirting with him, he considers breaking his vows and abandoning his faith in Indian traditions.

A starkly straightforward film, ABCD sheds light on complex issues surrounding family, work, and marriage.