Lee wants to be a Tarantula -- a member of the biggest, most powerful gang in his neighborhood. When his initiation goes wrong and the police catch him robbing an auto supply store, Lee's father sends him to live with his aunt in New Toronto. Although he initially resists his Aunt Reena and the customers of Reena's Unique Cafe -- a ragtag collection of the unusual, the unkempt and the deeply eccentric -- Lee gradually learns to open himself up to his new surroundings. When Lee strikes up an unlikely friendship he is suddenly confronted by the ravages of violence, and is forced to face the consequences of his own aggression.