A son endures hardships with his mother, deals with her sadistic ex-boyfriend, becomes a boxer and wins the heart of a beautiful waitress.

SYNOPSIS:

Seventeen-year-old Mary Jane and her boyfriend Marcos spend time together in the girl's bathroom. She loses her virginity to him and becomes pregnant. Mary Jane tells Marcos the news about her pregnancy but Marcos brushes it off, feeling it will jeopardize his future but quickly decides that he and Mary Jane should get married. Late on their honeymoon, Marcos leaves but does not return. The next evening, Mary Jane's older sister Deidre moves in and helps pay for a baby crib. Nine months pass and Mary Jane gives birth to a boy. She names him Nicholas.

While working a graveyard shift as a waitress at a diner, Mary Jane meets Bob. A construction worker and regular customer. Bob asks her out on a date. After months of dating, Bob and Mary Jane get married. Five years later, Mary Jane is physically abused and raped by Bob. Before she leaves Bob, she hits Bob with a bat while he is passed out on the bedroom floor. Mary Jane is later arrested and stands trial for the assault on Bob but is found not guilty due to her abuse.

Ten years later, Nicholas is fifteen-years-old and struggles with the reality that his mother is a stripper. Also struggles with other kids teasing him with her pictures in the local advertisement. Nicholas decides he wants to box and takes money from his mother's purse. Angry about the money but understanding, Mary Jane feels happy about her son wanting to do something constructive. Nicholas invites her to one of his training sessions and he becomes upset when she does not show up. Instead, Mary Jane is at home, with her boyfriend, Tom. Nicholas returns home and finds his mother doing drugs. Tom is physically hit by Nicholas after he puts his hands on him. Nicholas runs away and goes to the boxing gym and is welcomed in by Ryan. His boxing coach. Ryan calls Mary Jane and tells her that Nicholas is spending the night at the gym. The next day, Mary Jane and Nicholas reconcile.

About to return to school, Nicholas is approached by Tom, telling him to fight for money in an underground fight club. Nicholas turns down the offer at first but decides to after Tom threatens to harm Mary Jane. Nicholas wins the first fight, and also three hundred dollars. Over the years that pass by, Nicholas wins every fight and turns twenty years old. With enough fights won, Nicholas quits but Tom asks him for one last fight. The sad news comes that Bob has passed away. Bob's death changes Nick's thinking and turns his way of thinking, along with his way of life. On the night of the fight, Nicholas throws in the towel and loses money for Tom. Now with Tom on his back, Nicholas has Mary Jane spend the night at Deidre's house. He takes his GED test and is tailed while he walks home from school. Nicholas leads Tom into the boxing gym but Ryan knocks Tom unconscious.

With him passing the GED test and his mother in the clear. Nicholas has no worries. While on her way home from work, Mary Jane is hit by a car and killed. Heartbroken and hurt, Nicholas decides to move into his own apartment but knows there will always be an empty spot his mother always filled. Nicholas meets Suzie. A waitress at another local diner. Nicholas starts working at a local motel and starts the job right away. While locking up the gym, Ryan is shot and killed by Tom. The next day, while at the diner, Nicholas is served by Suzie but learns from the local newspaper that Ryan is dead. In disbelief, Nicholas rushes to the gym and hopes it's not real but it turns out to be. Back to the diner. Nicholas returns with a carnation for Suzie, and with the act, he wins her heart.

At a family get-together, Nicholas takes Suzie along, and Deidre starts to like her. The next day, in the diner, Suzie meets Tom, and with no reaction from Nicholas or a sign that the two know each other. Everything reaches a boiling point when Tom becomes persistent and shows up at the diner the next night. Nicholas warns him again to stay away from Suzie. Able to get a reaction from Nicholas, Tom breaks all of Suzie's car windows. Rather than not do anything, Nicholas rushes to the abandoned boxing gym and prepares to have a one on one match with Tom. Tom surprises Nicholas with his boxing skills and reveals that Ryan was his younger brother. He also tells Nicholas that Ryan was having a sexual relationship with his mother behind his back. This quickly angers Nicholas and he punches Tom out of the ring. A dumbbell falls onto Tom's neck and kills him. Nicholas returns home and is comforted by Suzie but has lost all sense of his innocence.

Nicholas starts sleeping with random women and Suzie catches him in the act. Ultimately, she decides the only way to keep him is to have sex with him. A choice that gets her pregnant. Deidre is the only one that Suzie trusts and decides to tell Nicholas about her pregnancy but ends up in the hospital. She lies to Nicholas about having a miscarriage. Suzie has twins, a boy, and a girl. A few months later, Deidre passes away and leaves money for Suzie.

Ten years pass, and Suzie gets the heartbreaking news that Nicholas is dead. In his widow's presence, Suzie is given a photograph of Nicholas and her together. A happy memory and the best time of her life.

MOTHER & SAINTS ISS #7