Wade Rule decides to escape his dominating mother by taking it upon himself to go to Vermont to care for his wheelchair-bound uncle who, Wade's father tells him, has recently lost his girlfriend to a and "man whose legs work. and " Wade reveals his dream to a fellow high school student, Maria, who tells him, and "I'd run off to Vermont before I'd live with my father. and " Wade then knows he'll have to hurry because Maria is planning to have herself declared a ward of the state within a week. She has given Wade the confidence to get them both to a better home; however, Wade's confidence is misplaced, and when he shows up at school with a shotgun to fetch Maria, things quickly go horribly wrong.