When white, middle-aged Mr. Wilder accepts a position teaching extracurricular creative writing at Booker T. Washington High, a predominantly black institution, he knows there will be challenges. The only reason he got the job is because no one else wanted to apply to a school at the center of a heated controversy: since a straight-A African American student was killed by a white teacher, racial tensions at the school-and throughout the town of Norfolk, Virginia-have been at boiling point.

Mr. Wilder grew up in a town where there were more Confederate flags than jobs, so he understands the struggle-and he wants to make a difference. Even though no students voluntarily join his after-school activity, he eagerly accepts the three troubled teens forced to participate. Jaylen, Curtis, and DeSean are resistant, but Mr. Wilder's persistence pays off when they begin to reveal their unique writing talents.

Despite the conflicts that arise from the boys' social struggles and creative differences, Mr. Wilder unites their energies by entering them in a writing competition. They each have a story to tell, and in spite of the racially charged environment and meddling principal, Mr. Wilder is determined to make their voices heard.