AllMovie

At the behest of his social worker (Greg Proops), bullied 17-year-old Ray (Kurt Krause) moves in with his Aunt (Thea Gill, “Queer as Folk”) and cousin Kim (Paulina Alvarez) for his latest shot at a normal life. But for Ray, every new home placement is the same; getting tormented for being the weird, new kid. The one bright spot in this new town is his biology teacher, Mr. Dwyer (Kareem Grimes), who encourages Ray to look to the future. Unfortunately, Kim’s boyfriend Eric (Reed Michael Campbell) views Ray as an ever-increasing rival for Kim’s attention and frames him for stealing booze from a liquor store. Just as Ray is about to be beaten by a baseball bat-wielding store clerk (Galen Howard, “Brooklyn 99”), a stranger cold-cocks the clerk. Ray is thunderstruck. This stranger is just the kind of guy Ray wishes he could be; a man of action with no regrets. And this dangerous, mysterious man, Shepard (Will Beinbrink), sees something in Ray. He sympathizes with the struggles and pain Ray has experienced. An odd friendship forms, but Shepard is leading Ray down a violent path of vengeance from which there can be no return.