Homeless woman Yvonne Caldwell is a woman with good reason to be bitter: she has lost everything except her two beloved dogs, Bebe and Man-Man. With her one friend, Wes, Caldwell lives the daily struggle of being homeless in Los Angeles until a chance encounter caused by her dogs leads to a friendship with LAPD officer Tami Baumann, and hope for a better life begins in earnest for Yvonne.

While they’re on vacation in the Southwest, Rae finds out her man Michael spent their house money on a classic car, so she dumps him, hitching a ride to Vegas for a flight home. A kid promptly steals Michael’s car, leaving him at the Zip & Sip, a convenience store. Three bumbling robbers promptly stage a hold up. Two take off with the cash stranding the third, with a mysterious crate, just as the cops arrive. The robber takes the store hostage. As incompetent cops bring in a SWAT team and try a by-the-book rescue, Michael has to keep the robber calm, find out what’s in the crate, aid the negotiations, and get back to Rae. The Stockholm Syndrome asserts its effect.

On their way home from Brooklyn psychiatrist Vic, daughter Julie and sister Stacey run short of gas. They leave they highway to search a petrol station – but end up erring around in South Bronx. A youth gang under the sadistic Ice stops their car and starts menacing them. When Julie drives away in panic, she damages one of their bikes. Ice feels provoked and decides to hunt them down… without fuel the 3 women soon have to flee by foot and defend their life with all means possible. Only the youngest gang member T.J. tries to help them.