Oscar, a young boy, commits a noble murder and is forced to run away from his rural hometown, and escapes to the nearest city, where he is inducted into a gang of child street thieves run by crime underboss Birdie (Ron Perlman). Fifteen years later, as an adult Oscar (Michael Pitt) has forgotten his past and become the leader of this band of lost children. When his friend Loux moves to the city in search of work, she takes a job with a struggling private investigator. Stumbling upon Oscar's missing child report, she takes it upon herself to find the boy who saved her life.