Cole is a fifteen year-old juvenile delinquent from Minneapolis. Cole's parents are no better than he is. His father, an angry alcoholic, constantly beats Cole while his mother, a quiet trophy wife, witnesses the beatings and does nothing to stop them. All his life, Cole has been referred from therapist to therapist, and from detention center to detention center. After Cole seeks vengeance on a boy named Peter who witnessed him breaking into a hardware store by ruthlessly beating him, Cole realizes that he may not have any more chances in life. When banished to an island and mauled by a bear inches from death, he realizes that he may not get any more chances. -Wikipedia (partial)