Michael Marino and his father had just moved from New York City to a small town in Pennsylvania. Dealing with the recent death of his mother and a hard core Marine Sergeant father, Michael finds it hard to make new friends. He soon hooks up with a couple of older boys and quickly gets the reputation of a neighborhood trouble maker. Michael befriends a junkie who sees Michael's future better than Michael sees it himself, causing Michael to turn to his school friends and soon, his own father, for help. Soon, Michael must say goodbye to his new friends but the experience and what he's learned over one school year will stay with him for the rest of his life.