When Ponyboy Curtis turns in his theme to his English teacher, things go bad. In the paper, Ponyboy tells about the time that his older brother, Darry, hit him. Ponyboy's teacher takes this seriously and gets in contact with the state to inform them that Ponyboy has been hit at home. When the state gets involved, will Ponyboy be taken away from his brothers and put in a boys homs forever, or will he be allowed to live with his brothers again?