Although Dave (LeVar Burton) and his family are poor sharecroppers in the Deep South in the 1930's, this 15 year-old's problem is shared by teenagers today: he stands with one foot in adulthood and the other in childhood. "Almos' A Man", yet still treated like a child, he struggles for an identity. There's one thing, one symbol of manhood, Dave thinks, that could guarantee him instant respect: a gun.

Dave finds a way to buy a pistol and at last, is ready to pull the trigger for the first time, never again will they call him a boy...but, he trembles, the gun overpowers the boy's body and he loses control.

His first shot is a fatal shot - his young life forever changed.