12 year old Javonte is currently struggling with the woes of puberty. She's being bullied, she doesn't think she fits in, her home life's a mess and on top of that, she's still grappling with the loss of her brother. We open on her fighting her bully, Imani and losing in front of her entire neighborhood. Her sister Renesha watches and takes Javonte home. Javonte's mother sees her bruises and punishes her for losing and being "weak". Meanwhile, we see Renesha is currently working to break the family cycle and get her GED. However, she can't help but notice Javonte struggling and decides to toughen Javonte up, teaching her how to be hard in order to survive. In this process, Javonte and Renesha develop a close bond, providing Javonte with a sense of security she's been missing since her brother's death. In the midst of this, Renesha secures a job contingent on her GED, affording her the opportunity to move her and her kids out of the neighborhood and start a better life. This new life is threatened, however, when Renesha's boyfriend, Jordan asks her to take the fall for a crime as he's on his 3rd strike, stating it will be Renesha's first and she'll get off easy. Choosing for her kids to have their father in their life, Renesha agrees and gets arrested just as Javonte wins a brutal fight against her bully. Javonte is once again left alone, and we see a broken family cycle continue.