A criminal mastermind has set in motion a plan to infiltrate a high tech prison in order to persuade a death row inmate to reveal the whereabouts of $200 million worth of gold. It's up to an undercover FBI agent to stop him before it's too late.

Set on a university campus, the story line unfolds over a several month period in which the "Greeks" (fraternities and sororities) prepare for the culminating event: the step show competition. Against this backdrop there are numerous subplots involving the meeting and maturation of a love relationship, a kidnapping, an avenging abused co-ed, fraternity initiation rites, step scenes, and the antics of students and faculty alike.

In the mid-1990s, two inmates bury the burned bodies of two lifers at Mississippi's infamous Parchman Farm; a third old-timer relates their story. They'd served 65 years for a murder they didn't commit, framed by a local sheriff while buying moonshine whiskey for a Manhattan club owner to whom they owed money. In flashbacks we see this odd couple thrown together (Ray is a fast-talking con man, and Claude is a serious man about to start work as a bank teller), the loss of Ray's watch (sterling silver, from his daddy), the murder and trial, the hardships of Parchman, and the love-hate relationship of Claude and Ray as they spend 65 years bickering and looking for a way to escape.

In order to achieve their dream of opening a recording studio, two friends (Omarion, Houston) must first win their city's dance contest -- a fierce competition that pits them against a group of tough street dancers.