New-to-town little Cal Parker meets two boys his same age, Drake Briggs and Joe Hart, and they become fast friends. They soon find that having each other's backs greatly increases their chances of coming out of difficult situations unscathed, which strengthens their friendships. Cal struggles with his strict policeman dad. Drake's own father has been absent from his family of five. Joe lives in a happy, supportive home with his loving parents as well as three siblings, when tragedy strikes. John Hackett Jr. lives for burning things, people and pretty much anything that will give him a grand result. When Johnny loses his mom at the tender age of seven by a middle-of-the-night house fire, something clicks in his fragile, innocent mind and he devotes his life to continuing the destruction any way he can.