The story is set in Harlem in the midst of drug runners and winos.

Much of the action takes place in the family apartment—the place where Jamal's older brother Randy was arrested by the police, where the family lives with the barest necessities, where Sassy and Jamal bicker, and where their father comes on rare occasions and lowers Jamal's self esteem. In contrast, the apartment where Tito and his grandmother live is a safe haven, a place of warmth, love, and good food.

Jamal has to deal with a bully every day at school where the teachers are insensitive, arrogant, and derogatory.

The storeroom of the school is the scene of Jamal's confrontation with Dwayne. It is here that Jamal realizes the power of the gun to equalize the odds.

Part of the conflict takes place in a crack house where the Scorpions vie for leadership...