A young African American nicknamed Ashtray moves to South Central, Los Angeles to his father. Ashtray is proud that they look the same age with his father; it is "very cool" in his opinion. And yet, he's older than his dad for two years. And he is proud of his grandmother, who in her old age smokes and does not hesitate to use strong words. Soon Ashtray meets with his cousin, nicknamed Lok Dog. This guy is a gangster who has in his personal arsenal not only pistols and a tommy gun, but a Soviet-made nuclear warhead "for self-defense". Ashtray should choose his future path in life, it may be "just a nice black guy" or become "a dangerous black man" , joining a gang of his cousin.