Scared of life and lacking the courage to be himself, Ludovico lives hidden away in his grandmother's old apartment. One night, the wickedness of the world goes to visit him in the form of Jack, a boy who is Ludovico's age but has the opposite character: hard, determined, perhaps criminal. The forced cohabitation of two human beings who couldn't seem more different from one another turns into an initiation rite to adulthood, the discovery of their true and respective personalities. And when the harsh reality that is mercilessly stalking them appears to present the bill, they will have to face it, bolstered by a new awareness and unhoped-for courage.
洛奇(保罗·纽曼 Paul Newman 饰)出生在位于纽约的一个非常贫困的家庭之中,他的父亲曾经梦想成为一名拳击手,但可惜窘迫的生活条件让这个梦想最终化为了泡影,于是,这个失落的男人只能整日生活在郁郁寡欢之中,靠着酒精排遣内心的不满。
荷尔蒙爆棚的洛奇整天在大街上打架惹是生非,这让他和父亲之间的关系变得非常的糟糕。某日,洛奇得到了军中长官的赏识,在长官的鼓励之下,他决定去拳坛一试身手,因此意外发现了隐藏在基因里的天赋,从此走上了拳击的道路。拳击不仅拯救了洛奇,以化解了他和父亲之间长久的仇恨。