In the year 1968, a seventeen-year-old criminal William “Bill” O’Neal has just been arrested in Chicago for his unsuccessful attempt to impersonate a federal officer with the intent to hijack a car. Shortly thereafter, he finds himself in the company of FBI Special Agent Roy Mitchell. If convicted, Bill faces lengthy prison sentence, but Roy has a proposition for him. He is to infiltrate the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party and get as much information about its leader, Fred Hampton, as possible.