Billy Straw's in real trouble. He's returned from war a broken man. He's arrested for rioting at a Veterans Job Fair. He associates with two brothers, criminals and becomes involved with anti-war radicals which draws the attention of the FBI. He can't hold a job or a relationship together. But it wasn't always like that. Once a deeply religious pre-teen, he and his mother's acts of mercy toward a forgotten immigrant family at a hovel dubbed "Weedtown" sets the stage for his return seventeen years later. His high ideals to serve God and his country get corrupted amid the chaos of war. Back home the ghosts of war, court martial and imprisonment haunt him. He turns to his only family, his elderly Aunt Clara. She gives him a home and her unconditional love. His naive attempts to redeem himself in acts of charity end in utter failure. Mentally unstable, he turns to crime and the road retraces his bitter return to "Weedtown" and a struggle to the death