Three young black males in Goose Creek, South Carolina struggle to resist the violent temptations and allure of the streets while preparing for life beyond high school, three months before graduation, in Dock Boy Diaries, a coming-of-age tale from the 1990s. The first section of the novel centers on their three-gang triangle, the Bandits and the Skulls, which includes two of the hardest gangs in the city, as they struggle to save their friend, the notorious Carlos.