The true story of Rocky Dennis, a personable young man who has craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, a fatal disease which causes hideous facial disfigurement. Rocky is the son of biker Rusty and he is accepted without question by his mom's boyfriends and her cycle buddies, but treated with pity and disgust by much of the outside world. The local high school principal doesn't want to enroll Rocky, but Rusty fights for her son's rights. Rocky eventually falls in love with Diana, a blind girl who cannot see his deformity and is entranced by the boy's kindness and compassion.