Young T-Bird Murphy seeks to gain a foothold in the turbulent and menacing world of 60s and 70s Oakland. While his mother runs with Hell's Angels bikers, T-Bird falls beneath the men's fists and favours, finds solace and hope in the slightest of rewards, and seeks to survive. Soon, T-Bird is sent to live with his ex-con father behind the Mohawk gas station. There he finds challenges of a different form: schools overrun by gangs, a father who is one blink away from madness, and a trumpet that might offer a way out.
