Sixteen year old Ricky Chavez is in trouble. Suspended from school, he has to face his older brother and legal guardian, Frank. Trouble is, Frank meets him with a belt. Bruised and depressed, Ricky drags himself to work. His co-worker, Maria de Leon, is the person who reaches out to him, and he falls in love. Trouble is, she belongs to a gang. Being in love with Maria means hanging around with the gang, ditching school to the beach or to her place, and ending up with a report card full of C's, D's, and an F. But a bad report card is the least of Ricky's troubles. Maria's gang, Locos 18, comes in conflict with another gang, Westside Raza, when a Locos girl named Sandra flirts with a Westside boy named Eddy. When Eddy beats her up, Locos goes looking for him. In the violent showdown between the two gangs, Ricky recognizes the consequences of his association with Maria and Locos 18. He has to make a decision. Trouble is, he doesn't like either one.