Karl Childers, now a grown man, is released from a psychiatric hospital
where he has been hospitalized since the age of 12 for the murder of his
mother and her lover. He returns to his childhood town and although being
mentally handicapped, gets a job fixing small motors at a local repair shop.
Karl befriends a young boy, Frank, and is soon invited by Frank's mother,
Linda, to move into the family's garage. As a strong relationship develops
between Karl and Frank, a confrontation builds with Linda's abusive and
sometimes violent boyfriend Doyle.