Maverick has been a member of the King Lords gang since he was 12; in addition to selling cannabis for the gang, he and his best friend King sell hard drugs on the side. He also has a beautiful girlfriend named Lisa. But Maverick’s life turns upside-down when, a few weeks before he starts 12th grade, a DNA test reveals that he fathered a baby with King’s girlfriend, Iesha when he and Lisa were briefly broken up. The baby is even named King Jr. after King, who was previously believed to be the father. After getting the results at the local clinic, Iesha abandons the baby with Maverick and his Ma.
Maverick and Ma take King Jr. home, expecting to have him for the weekend. It’s the messiest, most exhausting weekend of Maverick’s life. His older cousin Dre, one of the leaders of the King Lords, already has a three-year-old daughter. He stops by several times to help Maverick with King Jr. (whom Maverick has begun to call “Li’l Man”) and to tell Maverick to stop selling hard drugs behind the gang’s back. Dre insists that Maverick is a father now, so he needs to step up and be the father his son deserves. To help him in this endeavor, Dre pressures Maverick into accepting a job working for Mr. Wyatt, the local grocer. Maverick tells Lisa about his son and she breaks up with him. He also tells King he’s done selling drugs, which confuses and angers King.
The next few weeks are incredibly difficult for Maverick. He has no idea when Iesha plans to return for her son, whom Maverick renames Seven. On the first day of school, a kid from the rival Garden Disciples gang, Ant, tells Maverick that Dre should watch his back. Maverick skips school that afternoon to hang out with King. The two find Red (a hustler who sold Maverick a pair of fake sneakers) and destroy his merchandise. Later that afternoon, Maverick shows up late to his first day of work. Mr. Wyatt tells Maverick he only has three chances before he gets fired and instructs Maverick in how to plant roses in the Wyatts’ garden. Maverick doesn’t think the roses will grow, but he figures they deserve a chance.
One night, Dre comes over to hang out with Maverick. When Maverick runs into the house to check on Seven, someone shoots and kills Dre. All of the King Lords come to the funeral—and Lisa comes too. Afterward, Lisa and Maverick go to her house and decide to have sex, even though they don’t have a condom. This makes Maverick feel better about Dre’s death, but only momentarily. He tries to forget his sorrows by smoking cannabis with Shawn, the King Lords’ “crown” (leader), but Mr. Wyatt scolds Maverick for coming to work high and encourages him to cry instead of turning to drugs. Maverick also feels awful because he believes Ant killed Dre—but though Maverick believes he should kill Ant, Shawn won’t let Maverick do that. Not long after, someone shoots and kills Ant.
A few weeks later, Lisa comes to Maverick’s house, crying. She suspects she’s pregnant. Maverick doesn’t have the money to buy a pregnancy test, so he goes to Mr. Wyatt’s store where he can get a test on credit. The test confirms that she’s pregnant, but Ma barely reacts when Maverick tells her the news. She says it’s time to go visit Pops in prison. The day before Thanksgiving, Ma, Maverick, and Seven drive to Evergreen Prison. Pops is thrilled to see them and meet his grandson, but he’s furious when he learns that Maverick is expecting a second baby. He accuses both Ma and Maverick of making terrible decisions, which makes Maverick walk out. In his mind, Pops has no right to criticize him when he’s in prison.
Meanwhile, Lisa’s mom, Ms. Montgomery, kicks Lisa out when she learns that her daughter is pregnant, so Lisa moves in with her best friend, Tammy. Though Maverick insists they’ll figure everything out together, Lisa insists that having a baby doesn’t make them a couple. Maverick is still angry about this on Thanksgiving, and he feels even worse when King shows up to the family meal with Iesha in tow. As Maverick and King eat outside, Lisa’s brother, Carlos, pulls up and beats Maverick up for ruining Lisa’s life. At school on Monday, Maverick learns why Shawn didn’t stop in on Thanksgiving: he was arrested. According to Maverick’s friends Junie and Rico, they’re glad to be selling drugs with King—without Shawn, nobody cares about them.
After school, Maverick buses downtown to go with Lisa to her doctor’s appointment. Ma’s friend Moe is the nurse who checks Lisa in, and Maverick is shocked that the doctor is Black and doesn’t talk down to them. Maverick is ashamed when he can’t pay Lisa’s copay for the appointment. He realizes he has only one option: start selling drugs again.
Maverick spends his afternoons walking Lisa home from school and buying her food in an attempt to win her over—she’s spending too much time with a white boy named Connor. When he picks her up at her Catholic school, he sells to various students and rich white people. One afternoon, when he walks her home, they discover that Tammy’s older sister Brenda, her month-old son Khalil, and Brenda’s boyfriend are visiting. Brenda’s boyfriend turns out to be the hustler Red—and Red is wearing Dre’s watch, which was stolen the night Dre was murdered. Maverick now believes that Red killed Dre.
At work with Mr. Wyatt later, Mr. Wyatt tries to get Maverick to think about the future. Maverick thinks the exercise is silly, but he says it’d be cool to own a store. Mr. Wyatt says this will require a diploma or GED. He also notes that although Maverick doesn’t think he has any choice but to follow in Pops’s footsteps, he can make choices that will let him take a different path. When he leaves Maverick in charge of the store, P-Nut—the new crown—stops in. When Maverick tries to tell P-Nut about Red, P-Nut is unconcerned and threatens Maverick. Maverick realizes that the gang won’t look out for him anymore.
Not long after, Maverick discovers that because of his poor performance in school, he’ll have to repeat the 12th grade. Deciding that a diploma or a GED won’t help him, Maverick decides to focus on dealing drugs. He heads to King’s apartment for more product, where he discovers that Iesha is pregnant again—this time with King’s baby. With some coaxing, King convinces Maverick to tell him what’s going on. King is incensed when Maverick shares his suspicions about Red and reminds Maverick that he has to kill Red.
The week before Valentine’s Day, Maverick waits up for Ma to get home so he can tell her that he isn’t going to graduate, but he can’t do it. Ma then shares with him that she’s been in a romantic relationship with her friend Moe for years. On Saturday, Maverick has a big surprised planned for Lisa: he’s taking her to tour Markham, the college she’d like to attend. Though Maverick likes the campus and could even see himself attending, when King lets him know that he got Maverick a gun, Maverick decides the school isn’t for killers and dropouts like him.
Over the next week, Maverick gathers evidence and confirms that Red killed Dre. Then, he goes to visit Pops in prison on his own. Maverick apologizes for his behavior last time and tells Pops about finding Dre’s killer. He wants Pops’s permission to kill Red—but Pops refuses to give it. He says Maverick is becoming his own man and has to make his own decisions, but he reminds Maverick that all he has to do is be there for his family.
Two days later, Maverick sneaks up on Red in the park. He puts his gun to Red’s head—but can’t pull the trigger. Instead, he runs to Lisa’s, crawls in her window, and tells her what he did. He insists he’s a coward, but Lisa tells him he’s a man. Maverick knows what he has to do. When he gets home, he digs out his drug stash so he can give it back to King, though he accidentally flushes half the stash down the toilet when Ma startles him. In the morning, Maverick meets King, gives him the gun back, and tells him he’s done with drugs and that Red didn’t kill Dre. King doesn’t believe Maverick; he points the gun at Maverick and gives him an ugly look. He says that Maverick doesn’t have to pay him back for the lost drugs, but Maverick knows this won’t end well.
Once Maverick is done talking to King, he enters Mr. Wyatt’s garden and notices that the roses are blooming. Maverick tells Mr. Wyatt the truth about not being able to graduate, so Mr. Wyatt offers him a full-time job—as long as Maverick signs up for GED classes. When Maverick tells Ma the truth later, she’s furious. And when Pops calls unexpectedly, Maverick admits to Pops that he’d like out of the King Lords. Pops says this is a brave decision, one that many men are never able to make.
Weeks later, Lisa gloats: they’re having a girl, meaning she won her and Maverick’s bet about the baby’s sex. Ma is thrilled to have a granddaughter, and she’s feeling more relaxed because Moe is going to move in and alleviate some of the family’s financial troubles. As Maverick and Lisa discuss what to name their daughter, Maverick assures Lisa that he’ll be there for her and will be involved in the baby’s life. As they look at the stars, Maverick says that he has a name for their daughter.
