In South Central Los Angeles, a young boy named Tre Styles lives with his single mother. Struggling with his behavior, Tre's mother sends him to live with his father, Furious Styles, in the hopes that a male role model will steer him in the right direction. His father is a strong-willed, disciplined man with a deep sense of responsibility to his community. Tre reunites with his childhood friends, Doughboy and Ricky, who are brothers living in the same neighborhood. While the boys are from similar backgrounds, they are on divergent paths: Tre, under his father's guidance, is determined to finish school and avoid the pitfalls of street life, Ricky is a talented football player with hopes of a college scholarship as his ticket out, and Doughboy has already succumbed to the gang culture and criminal activities that pervade the area.

As they mature into young men, each facing the challenges that come with growing up in a community riddled with gang violence and economic hardship, their friendship is put to the test. Tre must navigate the pressures to join gang-related activities while maintaining his father's expectations and his own ambitions. The specter of violence looms constantly, affecting each of the boys' lives and shaping their futures. The narrative unfolds to portray a stark and poignant picture of the issues affecting urban youth, including systemic racism, police brutality, and the cycle of violence that often entraps those growing up in impoverished neighborhoods.