Ponyboy lives with his two older brothers, hanging out with his gang of Greasers. The gang is like a family, they look out for each other, protecting themselves and each other from the Socs. Ponyboy cannot see why the Socs, rich west side kids, always make life miserable for the Greasers. But one day he and another gang member, Johnny, are viciously assaulted by some Socs, which causes them to accidentally commit murder. They have to run away to the country to avoid the police, and Ponyboy is afraid that he will never see his friends and family again. After a week, they finally get the courage to return, but when they’re leaving, they see the abandoned church that they had stayed in was burning down. A group of young children were stuck inside, so Ponyboy and Johnny went into the burning building to save them. Once the kids were out, Ponyboy jumps out the window and then passes out. He wakes up in the hospital, safe and uninjured, to find that Johnny was severely wounded by a piece of timber that fell on his back, and that he’ll probably die. Additionally, the big rumble is coming up, but Ponyboy has a strange feeling that something will go wrong. Will Johnny live? Will the greasers beat the Socs, or will someone just get hurt.
