Orphaned and living hand to mouth, Jimmy Small is one of hundreds of boys working Newspaper Row near the dangerous Five Points intersection, a nexus for gambling, alcohol and brawls in the summer of 1907 New York City. At night, Jimmy dreams of owning his own newsstand. Sleeping in a garbage-littered alley, he awakens to find a young boy next to him who does not remember his last name or his past. Jimmy, who is street wise, and Philip, who is well educated, form a partnership and contend daily with other dirty and conniving newsboys competing to make sales. When Philip is kidnapped by young thugs who believe he is the son of wealthy parents, all seems lost. Will a quarter dollar and a promise be enough for Jimmy to save his friend and business partner? Will the mystery of Philip's identity and Jimmy's dream of owning a newsstand ever be fulfilled?