This Life Ain’t Gravy follows the experiences of Justin, an African American teenager, and his white mentor Dylan. While Justin is struggling through junior high and high school in Champaign, Illinois, Dylan is taking classes at the University of Illinois. The disconnect between their lives becomes apparent in Justin’s illiteracy, delinquency and life in a single-parent household, but they develop an enduring relationship by eating, reading and playing basketball together. As certain obstacles in Justin’s life prove too difficult to overcome, Justin and Dylan find strength in a bond that provides both with something more powerful than their perceived individual limitations.