Having been abandoned by his father and raised by a single mother, seventeen-year-old Rob Phillips is angry, disconnected, and going nowhere.

While hanging with a rough group of friends, Rob finds his way into serious trouble after they nearly beat a man to death. Instead of going to jail, a judge temporarily grants him a commuted sentence to go live with his uncle on a ranch in Montana and prove he can be a better man than his actions suggest.

Life on the ranch is hard, and he has never felt so alone. Having never ventured far from his Southern California beach town, Rob feels like he might as well be in prison, but he forges an unlikely friendship with an elderly American Indian, who tries to help face his past and guide him toward where he was always supposed to be.