白人唐尼因为把一个黑人少年打到终生残废而入狱。9年后唐尼被释放了,此时的他已经不同于以前了。可是黑人社区仍然想对他进行报复。黑人拳手奧西向唐尼挑战,而唐尼家人和朋友们都不会让他拒绝。受害者父亲乔治已经等待9年为儿子报仇。当最后他们面对面时,他们都意识到他们有相似的愿望--克服过去。而此时乔治当上了唐尼的教练...Donnie Rose went to prison for beating a young man so brutally it left him handicapped for life. Nine years later, Donnie is out. He's a different man with only one place to go: back home to the same violent and racist neighborhood that created him. At the other end of town, the black community still wants revenge. The instrument of justice will be Ossie Paris, a devastatingly talented boxer who challenges Donnie to a match; a match Donnie's family and peers won't let him refuse. George Carvery has waited nine years to avenge his son's fate at the hands of Donnie. When finally they meet face to face, however, both realize they share a similar desire to overcome the past. As the barely contained racism boils to the surface, George and Donnie form a seemingly unlikely alliance. Their partnership makes them outcasts from both tribes, who will only be satisfied by blood in the ring. The two men get to know each other in the eye of a storm, knowing full well that their futures will be decided with the bell of the first round.