Dito (
Robert Downey Jr.) is a successful writer living in Los Angeles, who
is summoned home to Astoria after a 15-year absence when his father (Chazz
Palminteri) becomes seriously ill. Memories of his youth come flooding back
as he revisits the old neighborhood, attempts to rebuild a relationship with
his father and encounters his "saints" - Dito's few childhood friends who
aren't in prison or dead.
As Dito (played as a young man by Shia LaBeouf) finds himself whisked back
into the youthful events that shaped him, an unforgettable cast of
characters unfolds to the sweltering heat of summer 1986. These include
Laurie (Melonie Diaz), Dito's childhood sweetheart; Mike O'Shea (Martin
Compston), a transplanted Scot with an Irish name who dreams of becoming a
punk rock musician; Giuseppe (Adam Scarimbolo), a reckless, destructive and
possibly insane member of Dito's street posse; and the unforgettable Antonio
(Channing Tatum), Dito's cocky and volatile best friend grappling with an
abusive father.