Five young teenage criminals are arrested in and around Miami, Florida, and sent to Youth Hall to serve their sentences. They make up of two rival gang leaders, Ruben Pacecho (Michael Carmine), the Hispanic leader of the Home Boys serving a three-year sentence for aggravated assault and armed robbery; Moss Roosevelt (Leon Robinson), the African-American leader of the 27th Avenue Players also serving a three-year sentence for assault and armed robbery; Carlos Aragon (Danny Quinn), a suave drug trafficker serving a four-year sentence after being arrested in a police sting; James Lee "J.L." McEwen (John Cameron Mitchell), a violent punk serving a 10-year sentence for manslaughter of his abusive and alcoholic father and various arson charges, and finally Dorcey Jon Bridger (Al Shannon), a car thief serving three-plus years for various auto theft and over 15 escape attempts from various juvenile halls.At the juvenile prison, Ruben, J.L., Carlos, Moss and Dorcey taunt each other as they are transferred and released in the middle of the Everglades, where a group leader named 'Indian Joe' Tigre (Stephen Lang) makes them fend for themselves until the following morning. When Joe returns, he starts a fire, and shares some of the fish he caught. The five inmates demand to know what is happening. Joe informs them that the law has decided to treat them as adults because of their criminal records and the seriousness of their crimes, but the juveniles refuse to learn survival skills. Later, as rain drenches the group, Moss Roosevelt attacks Joe, but fails to take him hostage.Joe teaches the teenagers to use citronella oil to prevent mosquito bites, and how to build a bed from reeds growing in the swamp. Moss steals Dorcey's bed, but later Dorcey sets a trap that leaves Moss hanging upside down.Back in town, Carlos Aragon's girlfriend, Nikki (Lauren Holly), visits drug lord Nestor Quintana (James Remar) to ask if he knows where to find Carlos. Nestor assures Nikki that he will locate Carlos in exchange for sexual favors. As Nestor inhales cocaine, he orders Nikki to take off her clothes in his bedroom.Back in the Everglades, Joe and the group scavenge for food, and soon, a wild boar chases after them. They climb trees to avoid being attacked, and Joe stabs the boar with a spear. They surround and kill the animal, roast it over an open fire, and eat the meat for dinner. Afterward, Joe announces it is exam time. He gives them a map with a destination, and a compass, then leaves.The next day the group sets off in a boat Joe has left them. Moss and Ruben Pacheco get into a fistfight after Ruben drops the compass in the swamp. Dorcey urges them to stop wasting time, and work together. Later, on land, when Moss falls in dense brush, Ruben helps him. After another day and evening in the swamp, they think they are lost, until they hear music. The sound leads them to an outdoor party with people, food, and drink. They see Joe, and he tells them that they are the first group to ever survive the rigors of the Everglades, and announces that their program continues in Miami.Joe and the five teen criminals move into an abandoned halfway house in "Little Havana" that Joe purchased from the city for one dollar. In the process, they evict junkies occupying the property, but allow Haitian squatters to remain. Soon, a drug lord named Cream (Laurence Fishburne) drives by the house in a white Rolls Royce convertible to see the reason for the commotion on his turf.Later, Carlos finds Nikki living in an expensive apartment. She claims that a friend lent her the place, but when Carlos does not believe her, she reveals she is working for Nestor. He accuses her of sleeping with Nestor and leaves. Nikki follows him to the apartment building lobby, and Nestor appears. He orders Nikki to his side, and tells Carlos to get lost.Back at the group house, Moss and Ruben prevent their respective former gangs from beating each other, then persuade the local Cubans to help paint the property.One day, Joe and the group are playing basketball when Cream arrives and accuses Joe of muscling in on his turf. Joe pretends to surrender, then overpowers Cream and presses his face against the sidewalk. On Joe's command, Cream's men relinquish their weapons. As the group collects the firearms, Cream vows revenge and leaves with his entourage.Later, the teenagers cannot resist playing with Cream's arsenal and pretending to be big shots. Joe warns them that guns are not toys. He reveals that previous members of his program returned to the streets and fell to drugs and guns. He wants to clean up the neighborhood, and break Cream's dominance. He says it is his mission alone, but his charges agree to help. Joe teaches them teamwork and combat technique.At a meeting, Cream assures Nestor he will destroy the halfway house. Nestor is not convinced, and threatens Cream so that he will carry out his plan. Back at the halfway house, Carlos tells Joe he is leaving in order to reunite with Nikki.Later, Nikki tells Carlos she has saved $10,000, and convinces him to leave Miami. While they are driving, Nikki tells Carlos that she overheard Cream's plan to destroy the halfway house. Carlos turns the car around and heads to Little Havana. Outside the halfway house, a gun battle rages between Joe, the youths, and Cream's gang. As the gunfight winds down, both Cream and Joe are killed. The group realizes that Nestor is the man behind Joe's death, and vow to destroy him.Nestor is busy building three new cocaine-manufacturing plants in Miami, but gives his associate the order to kill Nikki. He does not see Joe's youths as a threat. Carlos, J. L., Ruben, Moss, and Dorcey follow Nestor's men to a compound in the Everglades. The youths devise a plan to blow up Nestor's heavily guarded warehouse. First, they distract guard dogs with a female dog in heat. Dorcey sets off a bomb made with gopher gas, while the others attack. A climatic gun battle commences between the teenagers and Nestor's guards, while a mini-gun turret on the roof sprays machine-gun fire. When Nestor sees Nikki hiding in the shadows, he throws down his gun, and walks toward her. When he reaches for her gun, she shoots him dead. Elsewhere, Dorcey explodes a series of bombs that destroy Nestor's operation.As they drive away, Ruben comments that Joe should have been there in their moment of victory. When their car is stopped at a police checkpoint, they play dumb, and ask what is going on. The officer says he does not know, and after a few questions, he tells them to go easy on the beer, and lets them continue their journey. The five person group, now known as the 'Band of the Hand'; Ruben, Moss, J.L., Carlos, and Dorcey, along with Nikki, drive away into the night to an unknown future.