In 1990 Chicago, a taxi driver recounts to his passenger, a sportswriter, his life story. He reveals himself to be Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, one of the first African Americans to play in the NBA.

A nighttime protest downtown has escalated to require police backup for crowd control. As cop partners and a hobbyist photographer arrive late to the scene, an altercation takes place -- but what occurred depends on whose perspective you see.

After sweeping hair at a local barbershop, a 12-year-old boy uses his first payment to honor his late mother.