Academy Award(r) winner Sean Penn is Mick O'Brien, a rough Chicago teen torn between petty crime and the love of his girlfriend (Ally Sheedy). But when the heist of a local drug dealer (Esai Morales) goes tragically wrong, Mick is sentenced to a brutal juvenile prison where violence is a rite of passage and respect is measured in vengeance. Is Mick headed for a life of crime - or can he find the strength to turn himself around before it's too late?