Fiery Mexican sisters, Maya and Rosa, immigrants to the United States, work as office cleaners in a downtown Los Angeles office block. A fated meeting with Sam, a passionate American activist, inspires them to unionize. Their participation in the labor struggle threatens their livelihood, their family, and risks their expulsion from the country. Bread and Roses is a story about a very marginalized L.A. community that dares to take on its corporate bosses, against all odds. Loach was immediately enthusiastic about the subject - foremost, because the story takes place in the United States, where Loach hadn′t worked before. In addition, says Loach, "It was also in the city that is the home of pictures and yet it was about a parallel world." He was also intrigued because it was about a group of Spanish-speaking people who were easily exploited; yet managed to overcome..." This seemed another element in...[a] wider story [about] the relationship between the U.S. and countries that are essentially its colonies...economically and culturally."