Gritty teen drama in which a pair of naïve young girls, Allison (Anne Hathaway) and Emily (Bijou Phillips) learn that even the most insignificant actions can have lasting consequences. Influenced by the hip-hop thug lifestyle and seeking to explore life outside of their insulated, culturally homogenised suburb, the pretty young teenagers set their sights on East LA to experience the 'gangsta' lifestyle first-hand. But by the time they have become immersed in a frightening landscape of drugs, violence and gang brutality, they realise it may be too late to turn back.