Eddie is a house painter. He employs Houston, an alcoholic. One day, Eddie spots a dilapidated Pontiac Le Mans for sale on the street. At home, he’s greeted by a scrawny kid named Russell who lives next door with his mother Connie, his grandmother, and his older half-brother Curtis. Russell eagerly asks about Eddie’s day. Eddie returns the question, and Russell explains that Curtis let the air out of his bike tires. He hasn’t eaten, so Eddie sends him to pick up dinner. While he’s gone, Eddie fills the boy’s tires. Weeks later, Eddie buys the Le Mans and tows it home. There, he finds eight car batteries in the trunk. The next morning, Russell watches Eddie work on his new ride and offers to wash it. When Eddie gets home the next day, four batteries are missing from the now-clean car. Russell meets him in the carport. Eddie notices the boy’s labored steps. Curtis beat him up—again. Eddie comforts the boy and asks him about the batteries. Russell feigns ignorance, but he later confesses that Curtis made him steal them. Eddie thanks the boy for his honesty. The next step in the car’s refurbishment is to install a kill switch, so Russell watches as Eddie puts one in. The next day, Russell waxes the Le Mans. Meanwhile, Eddie waits for Houston to arrive at their job site. After an hour, he goes to Houston’s apartment and finds him drunk in his underwear. Eddie makes him get dressed, takes him to lunch, and they go to work. Once home, Eddie finds that the final four batteries are gone. He asks the boys’ grandmother about Curtis, and she says he’s not around. Later that day, Eddie brings Houston to the strip bar where Connie works. She feels she can’t control her older son, so she’s stopped trying. Eddie threatens to call the police if Curtis steals anything else. A few days later, Curtis jams Russell’s head into a toilet until he reveals the location of the car key. Then, he and his friends drag Russell on a midnight joyride around town. Suddenly emboldened, Russell flicks the kill switch, stopping the car in its tracks. Curtis starts beating Russell, which attracts the attention of a nearby cop. The older boy and his friends are swiftly arrested. When Eddie wakes up and realizes the Le Mans is missing, he calls the police and they find it in an abandoned lot. Russell, who’s been beaten black and blue, explains what happened. Eddie spends the rest of the day with Russell. He cautions that Curtis will be out of juvenile detention soon, and Russell responds that he’ll be ready when his brother comes back.