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Elwood Curtis’ college dreams are shattered on a two-lane Florida highway. After suffering the weight of an innocent misstep, he is sentenced to the underworld of Nickel Academy, a brutal reform school deep in the American South. There, he meets another student, Turner, who has seen it all. The two black teenagers form an alliance: Turner offers important survival advice, and Elwood clings to his optimistic view of the world. Against the backdrop of the burgeoning civil rights movement, Elwood and Turner’s existence seems a far cry from the refined rhetoric of Reverend Martin Luther King. Despite Nickel’s cruelty, Elwood struggles to hold on to his humanity, awakening a new perspective in Turner.