Mary Thomas (Alfre Woodard) is a single mother with nine children in a rough Chicago neighborhood. She struggles through poverty, resisting gangsters, violence and drugs while battling an indifferent city bureaucracy. Her children thrive under her protection, despite the dangers and temptations of their neighborhood. Mary's youngest son, Isiah (Larry O. Williams Jr.), grows up to be on of the greatest players in the history of the NBA, leading the Detroit Pistons to two championships.