Emilio (Jairo Osuna) is a Mexican teenager who tries to save his younger sister after she's abducted by relatives who cross into the United States. But Emilio's own attempt at an illegal crossing lands him in the clutches of a ruthless drug smuggler (James Bardo). When he finally reaches the U.S., Emilio gets help from a sympathetic car mechanic (Damian Chapa) but still faces daunting odds in the violent world that the border has created.

Timmy Lea and his brother-in-law Sidney Noggett are working as entertainment officers at Funfrall, a typical British holiday camp. The staff are lazy and inefficient, preferring to laze by the pool rather than organise activities for the holiday campers. A new owner, Mr. Whitemonk, an ex-prison officer, takes over the camp and is determined to install discipline into the staff. He is on the verge of dismissing Timmy and Sidney; however, Sidney's suggestion of organising a beauty contest changes his mind.

Though the mother of the Mulberry children tries to keep her family away from the destruction and violence of street life, one by one, the children are all sucked in. When youngest daughter falls for a violent drug dealer, it's all the mother can do to hold her family together.

Elijah has been bounced from group home to group home throughout his turbulent young life. What has sustained him is his art. After a promised scholarship is taken away, Elijah ends up in a fight that result in the death of another boy. Now, sentenced to a minimum of fifteen years, the young man must find a way to keep his soul alive behind bars or turn into a hardened bitter criminal.