Primarily based on the real life adventures of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film targets half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, since the three are members of the East L.A. group known as the"Vatos Locos", and also the narrative centers around the way the violent crime and the effect of narcotics alter his or her lifestyles. Miklo is incarcerated and sent to San Quentin, where he makes a"home" for himself. Cruz becomes a exemplary artist, but he is overcome by a heroin dependence . Paco becomes a cop and a enemy into his"carnal", Miklo.