Boy Wonder

An armed carjacker attacks Sean's family one night, ending with the murder of his mother. The violence shatters their lives and forces the family to relocate to a safer neighborhood. Sean survives the night but is forever marked by the loss and trauma.

Terry moves the family to a nicer area in an attempt to start over. Sean watches from a distance as violence becomes a visible constant around him, shaping his cautious worldview. He grows more withdrawn while attempting to adapt to a new environment.

Ten years pass and Sean is an exceptional student, yet emotionally antisocial and untrusting. He notices abuse in everyday arguments and begins training in self-defense. He also starts carrying a weapon at night as a precaution against danger.

During an attempted mugging, Sean shoots and kills a man. An eyewitness brings Teresa Ames, a NYPD homicide detective, into the investigation. The incident marks Sean as a potential suspect in the eyes of law enforcement.

Teresa takes a personal interest in Sean after the incident, following his movements at the police station and beyond. She learns about his life, including his fascination with a toxin named Tricelaron and his talent for speaking Chinese. His demeanor and history complicate her assumptions about him.

On a train, Sean confronts and brutally beats a man who is verbally threatening a Chinese family, using blackface makeup to conceal himself. Teresa and her partner are aboard and investigate but Sean manages to slip away undetected. The train incident deepens the mystery around his true motives.

Teresa pushes the investigation despite warnings. A retired supervisor confirms that Sean could identify his mother's killer from a photo, naming Larry Childs, a contract killer. Childs had been arrested six months earlier, given a two-year sentence, and placed into witness protection under a plea bargain.

At a school party, Sean experiences a brutal flashback of his mother's murder. His suppressed rage erupts as he savagely beats a fellow student harassing a female friend. The episode exposes how deeply his trauma affects his behavior.

Teresa discovers a photo at Sean's house showing Terry with Larry, revealing a connection between his father and the killer. The discovery shifts her suspicions toward a family conspiracy and strengthens Sean's belief that his father was involved. Sean confronts Terry, who denies the involvement.

Convinced his father staged the murder for life insurance, Sean confronts and shoots Terry. Teresa arrives to investigate and sees the aftermath, with the murder weapon found and later disposed of. The truth remains elusive as to who orchestrated the original crime.

Sometime later, Sean writes to Larry, forgiving him but begging him to reveal the truth about his mother's murder. He includes a self-addressed, empty envelope with a red and a black stamp, offering a simple way for Larry to respond. The gesture underscores Sean's longing for closure.

Larry licks the stamp and hands it to a guard, then collapses and dies from the glue laced with Tricelaron. Sean receives the news in the form of a red stamp, understanding that Larry will never reveal the truth. The resolution remains forever incomplete as the killer's fate cuts off the key confession.