A teenager is abandoned by his mother, the only family he has. He is informally adopted by a neighbor, an older man with two small children.
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We later learn that the man has kidnapped his children from his ex wife and they are subsequently taken from him. The older man teaches his protege, to steal, to use a gun and eventually they take off on a shooting spree, killing random strangers from inside a hole carved inside a blue Caprice. They murder at least 7 people, driving around California. When they are caught, they are separated and the only thing the teenager has to say? "Where is my father". This movie is based on the Beltway Sniper who terrorized California for a brief time. A car would drive up, shots would ring out and someone would lie dead with no rhyme or reason.
Best part of story, including ending:
The older man was a straight up sociopath, who wanted to kill because life had treated him badly and it felt good. But the teenager could easily have gone some other way. The only human being who gave a damn about him taught him to kill. A lonely and frightened teenager ran into the wrong mentor and it ruined his life.
Best scene in story:
The teenager shoplifts and gets caught, embarrassing his "father" So his father takes him out to the woods and ties him to a tree, leaving him to fend for himself. This is the first time we can see that the older man is one scarey, dangerous guy.
Opinion about the main character:
Well he's a psychopath who murders people for fun. You are not given as much insight into his character as with the teenager. But he is full of anger and he feels like a victim. He just takes it further than most would.
