In a coming of age story reminiscent of The Outsiders, Reason Nelson learns the hard way that there are no take-backs in life. You get one shot. Thirteen-year-old, Reason, attends a party that is busted by the local police. As he flees, he collides with a private detective and a drug dealer, snatching up what he believes to be his jacket and crawls into a doghouse, dragging the jacket with him. In the pocket of this coat, Reason discovers a key that opens a safe-deposit box containing evidence that will solve the murder of a female informant. Reason’s defiance disorder kicks in, preventing him from cooperating with private eye, Jessie Dalton, who is determined to see that Reason survives his encounters with the murderer who want to destroy the evidence. Committed to saving Reason from his demons, Jessie joins forces with Reason’s mother, Rose, who runs her own NA program, and his brother, Boone, who considers the Nelson house a drug-free zone.