After trashy blonde Miriam and her 15-year-old son Michael are literally thrown onto the streets by her enraged rich boyfriend, they have to move into a grungy apartment in Neukölln, a rough ethnic neighbourhood in Berlin. Their new life is far from their posh former lifestyle in the suburbs. Beatings and extortion by a gang of violent bullies makes public high school miserable for Michael. At home he has to put up with the guys his Mum entertains in her search for a new man. Michael's life turns around when urban crime lord Hamal takes him under his wing: Michael's honest face makes him the perfect guy for drug deliveries to local dealers. But when some money goes missing, Michael is brought face to face with the realities of his new profession.
