Travis has been waiting to get to junior high. When that time finally comes, things are both better, and worse, than he had hoped. On the plus side are two great new teachers. On the minus side there's Shon Docker, Travis's old tormenter from elementary school.

Travis lives in a trailer park outside a small prairie town. His mother, a country-and-western singer, is on the road a lot; his father is long gone. When things get crazy at his house, he can always visit his best friend, Chantelle, a smart disabled girl with several wild biker brothers.

Travis knows he's different. He loves to sew and play with puppets. He wants to become a professional puppeteer. It all makes him a target for Shon and his friends. As Travis and his friends happily prepare a puppet production of A Midsummer Night's Dream for the school graduation festivities, Shon's anger and prejudice erupt in violence.