Plot summary

In spring 1978, Brad Whitewood, Jr. impresses his brother, Tommy, by hanging from the hood of a car to retrieve Tommy's stolen money from the driver. Then, he dusts himself off, and makes conversation with a pretty blonde girl named Terry, and her girlfriend, Jill, in the town square. He offers white pills to the girls. As Terry swallows one, Brad, Jr. asks when and where he can see her again. She promises to return to the square in two days. The next day, Brad, Jr. and his friend, Lucas, are home when a stranger appears and asks to see Brad's mother. When Brad, Jr. says she is not around, the stranger peels off three hundred-dollar bills and leaves them on the kitchen table. He addresses Brad, Jr. by his name, but mistakes Lucas for Tommy, then leaves. Later, Brad, Jr.'s mother pockets the money, but has no interest in seeing the stranger who is her ex-husband, Brad Whitewood, Sr. Meanwhile, Brad, Jr.'s grandma warns him to stay away from his father. At night, Brad, Jr. waits for Terry at the square, but she never appears. Later at home, Brad, Jr. and his mother's boyfriend, Ernie, have a fistfight over the sound volume on the television. When Ernie tosses Brad, Jr. in the dirt outside, Brad, Jr. calls his father to come get him. As they drive in Brad, Sr.'s car, the father denies he is a thief. At the Whitewood residence, Brad, Jr. is introduced to Uncle Dickie, Patch, Boyd, Tony Pine, who is an epileptic, and Aunt Mary Sue. Brad is left to make small talk with Mary Sue, while his father and the other men go to rob a safe. The next day, father and son go into town, and Brad, Jr. is impressed when he sees what makes his father a successful scammer. Later, Brad, Jr. sees Jill at school and asks her for Terry's address. He hitchhikes to Terry's farm. She tells him that her mother grounded her for two weeks when she tried to sneak out to meet him, and says she has heard rumors that his father is a criminal. He tells her not to believe the gossip. She gives him her telephone number, and he kisses her goodbye. Later, Whitewood gang member, Patch, suggests that he could teach Brad, Jr. a few things about crime, and they go off to brainstorm. Brad, Sr. buys his son a car, but discourages him from teaming up with Patch. When Brad, Jr. suggests that his father teach him how to be a successful criminal, Brad, Sr. refuses, and orders him to return to his mother. The next day, Brad, Sr. takes Brad, Jr. and Tommy for a ride and points out the area homes belonging to wealthy people. At a restaurant, he gives the boys a gun, and when Tommy is excited, he tells them they cannot have it until they prove themselves. Tommy is ready to put Brad, Sr.'s word to the test that night. Meanwhile, Lester, an old associate, interrupts them, and says he is looking for some action. However, Brad, Sr. accuses Lester of being a police informant and waves him away. Later, Brad, Jr. rounds up his friends to rob a farm. The owner discovers the gang on his property, and shoots Brad, Jr. in the face as the boys escape. Brad, Jr. calls his father, who refuses to help. He tells his son to ask his girlfriend for assistance. Terry cleans Brad, Jr.'s wound, and he spends the night with her. The next day, they sneak out, and spend the day on the lake with his friends. At night, Terry tells Brad, Jr. she has to return home or her mother will call the police. Brad, Jr. promises her that he will make enough money to buy a house that they can live in someday. One day, Brad, Jr. and Terry meet his father and his associates at a bar. When Brad, Jr. asks his father for work so that he can afford a house, the gang walks off. The father warns his son that in the future those kinds of conversations have to be held in private. He later agrees to show Brad, Jr. how he works to see if he likes the life. At a restaurant, Brad, Sr. and his gang see Lester talking with Detective Mosker. Outside in the parking lot, Brad, Sr. bullies Lester into joining them on a job to prove his loyalty. During the drive, Brad, Sr. gets Lester high on drugs and alcohol and interrogates him. Lester says that the FBI has been brought in to investigate the Whitewood gang's activities. Brad, Jr. watches as they stop near a lake, and Patch drowns Lester. One day, as Tommy watches Brad, Jr. work on his car, Brad, Sr. arrives with a shiny new sports car, and asks his sons for help on a job. Brad, Jr. refuses and his father drives off angry. Instead, Brad, Jr. recruits his friends to commit a robbery, but they get caught by the police, and thrown in jail. Brad, Sr. offers $12,000 to Brad, Jr.'s grandma for his bail, but she refuses it. Later, Brad, Sr. drives Lucas and Terry to jail to visit Brad, Jr. On the way, Terry becomes drunk on Brad, Sr.'s liquor. They stop at a motel where Brad, Sr. tells Terry she knows too much and has to stop seeing his son. When she refuses, he rapes her. Later, Terry tells Brad, Jr. in jail about her ordeal. He retaliates by giving the FBI information on his father. When Lucas is subpoenaed by a Grand Jury, Brad, Sr. lures him out on a job, and kills him. He also kills Tommy and another friend the same way. Brad, Jr. is released from jail after giving up more information. He plans to leave town with Terry and relocate out west near her relatives. Next, Brad, Sr. plots to kill Terry. Grandma gives $400 to help Brad, Jr. and Terry's escape. As the couple gets ready to drive off, shots ring out in the night. Terry is killed. Brad, Jr. stumbles out of the car and washes off the blood from his wounds. Later, he visits his father and pretends nothing has happened. In the bathroom, he retrieves a gun hidden on a shelf. Back in the kitchen, he confronts his father about Tommy and Terry. Brad, Sr. tries to calm him by saying he knows how the police can mess up a person's thinking. Brad, Jr. asks him if the gun he holds killed everyone, and fires a few stray shots. As Brad, Sr. tells his son that he loves him, Brad, Jr. presses the gun against his father's face, but says killing him would be too easy. He wants his father to suffer every day and die slowly. Soon, Brad, Jr. testifies against his father at a Grand Jury hearing.