Runaway teenager Joe leaves her dysfunctional mother after being beaten by her lover Harry. She meets Engel and his punk friends on the streets and the boy shelters her in the abandoned building where he lives. Engel tells Joe that he dreams of living in the mountains in a community of his own, raising animals and planting his own food, and they fall in love with each other. When Joe gets pregnant, they face serious problems because of their unemployment and homelessness. Engel then gets addicted to drugs and he drags Joe down with him to a life that includes prostitution, but ultimately there is a light at the end of the tunnel for them.