In the 1970s, a small recreational youth center in the planned suburban community of New Granada, Colorado, closes at 6 p.m., causing teenagers to scatter to their homes. Elsewhere, another youth, Mark Perry, cracks the windshield of a police car with a BB gun shot from a highway overpass. As Officer Doberman swerves to a halt, Mark and his friend, “Outlaw,” escape on their bicycles. Along the way, they warn teenagers, Carl Willat and Richie White, to hide. The officer discovers Carl and Richie and orders them to surrender. He finds Richie carrying a switchblade, and takes the teens to the police station for more questioning. Richie tells officers he is not a snitch, while an officer lectures Carl about the bad company he keeps. Driving home, Carl’s father, Fred Willat, owner of a Cadillac dealership, insists that Richie is a bad influence. The next day, Carl and Richie tell friends at New Grenada Junior High School about their arrest. Later, the principal informs students at an assembly that due to the BB gun incident, the school board and police have agreed to enforce a nightly neighborhood curfew. Back at home, Carl is disappointed to learn that the formerly proposed site of a bowling alley is now being developed as an industrial park to attract new business. At night, the teenagers congregate in the playground outside the closed recreational center. Carl has his sights on a beautiful girl named Cory, and searches for her. Richie and his friends attend a house party, hosted by a teenager whose parents are out of town. In the basement, Carl offers his marijuana cigarette to Mark, the owner of the BB gun. Mark leaves Cory in mid-cuddle for a smoke, and Carl tells Mark that he did not reveal his identity to the police. Instead of being grateful, Mark threatens to hurt Carl further if the police find out about him. As Carl leaves, Cory asks why he stares at her, and he replies that she deserves much better than her current boyfriend. Depressed that Cory seems unobtainable, Carl leaves the party. Meanwhile, police arrive and shut down the festivities. On the playground, Mark and Outlaw beat Carl and take his money. Fred is upset when he sees his son’s bloody face, but Carl insists he did not see his attackers. Fred explains to his guest, Jerry Cole, the president of the homeowners association, that he has discouraged his son from associating with the recreational center gang. Since Fred and Cole will be giving a tour to prospective tenants, they decide it is in their best interest to close the recreational center for a day. When Julia, the rec center counselor, refuses to shut down, officers take matters into their own hands. They arrest a drug-loving teenager named Claude Zachary for possession of hashish, and use the “bust” as an excuse to close the center. Outside, Richie taunts police from the roof of the police car, until youths surround the car and rock it. The police abruptly leave, while down the road Fred and Cole deliver their sales pitch to several wealthy Texans. Elsewhere, Carl and Richie meet Cory and her friend, Abby, on the street. Richie soon discovers that Abby is carrying a stolen gun inside a plastic bag. The boys entertain the girls inside a condominium still under construction. Cory dances to the rock music on Richie’s stolen boom box, aiming the gun randomly until it accidently goes off. For a few moments, Carl pretends to be wounded. As the group leaves the construction site, Richie offers to keep the gun safe. Soon, Carl and Richie sabotage the Texans’ car with firecrackers, causing the businessmen to leave town early. On their departure, they tell Cole his community has a problem with teenage vandalism. Elsewhere, Carl, Richie, Claude, Cory, and Abby take target practice with the gun, and fight over whose turn it is to shoot. After they run out of bullets, the friends sneak over to Tip’s house, threatening him with the gun after his confession to police about being Claude’s drug dealer. When Tip’s mother sees her son being harassed from across the street, the friends disperse. Back at the house, Sandra and Fred order their son to stay away from Richie and Claude. When she informs him that the rec center will be closed until a new counselor is hired, Carl sees his world crumbling. Days later, Tip’s mother visits the school, looking for the teenagers who roughed up her son. Carl warns Richie, who steals his mother’s car and grabs the gun, convincing Carl to run away with him. Doberman chases them, and Richie drives off road looking for a place to hide the gun, but he loses control of the vehicle and it flips over. Carl and Richie split up, and Doberman pursues Richie, ordering him to surrender. Instead, Richie points his gun at the officer, who shoots and kills the teenager. Later, Carl calls his friend, Johnny, learns that Richie is dead, and hides out in the empty condominium. Cory brings him supplies, and goes home before her parents realize she is gone. Soon, Carl sneaks into his house to get money. Later, Carl meets Cory at the rec center playground. At the same time, the junior high school hosts a community meeting about teenage crime. Soon, troubled teenagers arrive at the junior high with bats. While the meeting is in progress, Carl and his friends block all exits from the school and start a riot in the parking lot. Doberman discovers the doors are locked, and orders the community to remain calm. Meanwhile, firecrackers are set off, overturned cars explode, and classrooms are destroyed. Claude takes Cory home, while Carl wanders around observing the mayhem. When police arrive to free community members, Doberman drives off to find Carl. He locates the teenager, handcuffs him, and puts him inside the squad car. As Doberman drives by the rec center, Mark shoots his BB gun, causing the policeman to lose control of the vehicle. The car crashes into a propane tank and then into the rec center before coming to a stop. Carl fishes the key from the officer’s pocket, frees himself, and scrambles out of the building. Outside, Carl watches with sadness as fire consumes the center. Later, Carl’s parents embrace him as he and several other youths are herded into a school bus bound for reform school.