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...