Philadelphia homeless kids cultivate their special talents to survive the mean streets as well as using their skills for a little fun with those who would do them harm. But something goes dreadfully wrong with their celebration when Chief and his unique gang break into an amusement park after dark. Chief wakes up in isolation with a sword to his neck. A fearsome voice from a fluctuating, hovering face announces there is one way out—and the only way to reunite with his friends—show the proper respect and fear. Face, as Chief comes to know him, shapes the gangs' character through hard labor while the Earth's voice schools them. Once they come to revere Face, he tells them of his big plans for the Insiders—risky plans involving the rescue of trafficked children all over the world before Earth's axis flips.