The film begins with Woody Watson (Michael Rainey Jr.) having a dream about himself and his mother in the woods, but then he wakes up.

Woody lives with his grandmother (Lonette McKee) in the inner city of Baltimore and longs to be reunited with his mother, who is in rehab in North Carolina.

His charismatic uncle Vincent (Common) has recently returned home after having served 12 years of a 20-year sentence.

After the duo get Woody a tailored suit, they take a trip to see Cofield (Charles S. Dutton), Vincent's friend, old crime partner, and now owner of a crab shack, who tells Vincent his old crime boss, Mr.

Fish's brother Arthur (Danny Glover), Vincent reluctantly agrees to do one more drug deal for Mr.

Upset and angry, Woody bolts from the car and runs to the train station hoping to get a ride to North Carolina to see his mother.

Vincent then convinces Woody to help him complete the drug deal and promises to take him to North Carolina one day.

The pair then go to visit Beverly (Meagan Good), Vincent's old girlfriend, now with a new boyfriend and pregnant with his child.

Taken into custody by Detectives Holloway and Pratt (Michael K. Williams & Russell Hornsby), Woody finds himself involved in a triple homicide, but he will not be charged.

Back at home, his grandmother walks into the kitchen, where she finds money Woody left in her Bible.

As Woody drives off (presumably to North Carolina), he says in a voiceover, "My Uncle Vincent said that there are two types of people: owners and renters.

[5] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C−, writing, "The actor and rapper Common has become a highly skilled screen star, but this touchy-feely dud does him wrong...

The first sign that something is off in the movie is when Vincent decides to give his kid nephew (Michael Rainey Jr.) a lesson in thug life.