Ray Rodriguez is on the ledge of his New York apartment with his mutt, Queeny. Although he longs to let himself fall, he doesn't. He has a new doctor whose treatment might finally change his life. His social worker and part-time babysitter, Nilda, is gorgeous (and older, and in a relationship, but those are minor details). Things are looking up—as much as they can for a boy with a heart murmur, a stepfather away in college, and a suicidal mother. On the way home from school one day, Ray and his friend Frankie take a shortcut. They attract the attention of the “zombies”, the drug addicts who live under the bridge. The two of them hurl bottles and other street debris to scare them away. When Ray gets home, he finds that Queeny has destroyed the apartment. His mother, Mary, beats the four-legged culprit and makes Ray abandon her at a dog park. The next day, Nilda’s boyfriend, Nino, comes to visit. While she is in another room, Nino confides to Ray that he suspects she has feelings for her friend, Gregorio. That night, Ray wets the bed (again). Fearful of his mother’s reaction, he runs to the streets, but she finds him before he can get far. In the morning, his mother is gone, so Nino takes Ray to school. There, Frankie asserts that his brother is in jail, and Ray’s stepfather is an inmate at the same facility.  Enraged, Ray punches Frankie and runs blindly into the street. He finds himself under the bridge, once again the victim of a zombie attack. Out of nowhere, Nino saves him. When Ray’s stepfather calls later, the boy asks where he is. He replies that he’s in school. Just like Nilda believes Ray’s mother is going to get better—like Nino believes Gregorio and Nilda are just friends—Ray believes his stepfather, the only father he’s ever known.