Billy (Lance Robinson) defies his mother (Karin Wolfe) and father (Craig Sechler) and makes a secret trip from Long Island to Philadelphia to sneak his grandfather (Abe Vigoda) out of a nursing home and bring him home for the holidays. The convalescent home's inhabitants distract the staff so Billy and his confused Grandfather can make their escape. They cross path with a street gang whose leader (Aries Spears) commands a pursuit. They are given a hiding place by a concerned homeless man Buzzard Bracken (Sherman Hemsley), but their sanctuary is only temporary, as the gang invades the homeless camp and capture Billy and Gramps. Buzzard and his homeless friends rescue the two and raise money by panhandling in order to get them on their way back to Long Island and a Christmas reunion.
When Rickey and his friends put a snake in the desk of the new substitute teacher, to their surprise, she lovingly picks it up and puts it around her neck. Soon her strange stories of the wonders and beauty of the world around them helps them to see there is more to life than ever imagined.
