Set in the early 1950s, the film stars Adam Butcher as Ralph Walker, a teenager attending a Catholic private school. Ralph's father was killed in World War II before the beginning of the movie, and his mother is seen to have cancer. Ralph is naturally prone to mischief and often finds himself an outcast among his classmates. He tries to emulate the conduct of grown ups, and is caught smoking cigarettes and masturbating by the headmaster of his school. Already labeled a troublemaker, Ralph is forced to join the school's cross-country team to relieve him of his excess energy and "evil tendencies".