The three youths arrived in the juvenile justice system for different reasons. The young repeat offender white male was charged with having beaten a woman and stolen her purse. The young girl was in dependency court because the court was deciding whether to seperate her from her mother after the mother's boyfriend had repeatedly beaten her. The young alcoholic black youth was in juvenile court after having stolen a radio from a department store. In tracing these cases through the system, judges, district attorneys, defense attorneys, and probation officers are interviewed extensively. These interviews focus on both the operational aspects and objectives sought at each step in the system. Although over 40 percent of those currently being processed in the juvenile justice system are recidivists, the film concludes that the juvenile justice system does all it can to help juvenile offenders and that the these juveniles ultimately are responsible for their actions.