Eleven-year-old Des, [Brendan Fletcher], and his friends descend into a pattern of vandalism, stealing, lighting fires, mugging, and using drugs, a dangerous mix he uses to cope with a harsh reality. In Canada the age of criminal responsibility is twelve, and Des cleverly exploits this law, knowing the police cannot charge him until he turns twelve.
Des meets Cory, [Myles Ferguson], on the schoolyard when Cory gets into a fight. Impressed with Cory's willingness to stand up to a bully, the two form a quick bond and set out on a crime spree together. After breaking into a home and ransacking it with Cory's toddler sister Nonny, [Keely Purvis], in tow, they are arrested and brought to the police station, where Cory is detained.
Cory's mother and stepfather try to keep him away from Des, but their efforts fail as Cory continues to meet with his friend. Des, who lives in squalor, comes home to find a police officer and a social worker in the kitchen, talking to Dolly, [Dolores Drake], about his escalating behavior, a conversation his mother doesn’t take seriously.
Following an incident in which Des is stabbed by his mother, he ends up in an assessment centre for troubled children. There he meets Rita, [Mimi Kuzyk], a psychologist who tries to understand Des's motivations and gradually sees some improvement in his behavior. Des's mother relinquishes custody of him, a decision he struggles to accept, and Rita informs him that they are trying to place him in a foster home.
Des recoils at the idea of foster care and flees as soon as Cory visits him. The two of them plot to get out of the city and target Chet, the local dealer, [Jed Rees]. During the robbery, Cory confesses to stealing something, which prompts Chet to attack him. After hesitation, Des shoots and kills Chet with a stolen firearm.
Following the killing, Cory becomes afraid of Des and wants nothing to do with him, even asking his stepfather to protect him. As Des approaches the vehicle, a school police officer reminds him that he will be 12 years old in a month, prompting Des to flee the schoolyard. Des, still on the run from the assessment centre, returns home to find his mother passed out in bed with a boyfriend, unaware of his presence.
Not wanting to be placed in foster care or arrested when he turns twelve, Des sets the house on fire and hides in a closet, sleepily sinking as the flames slowly engulf the home.
