College student Alphabet Soup—called “Soup” by his friends—is caught in the middle of a soon-to-be brawl. His best friend Moo stands brandishing a broken beer bottle, ready to do battle with a gang of white football players. Soup wants to be loyal to Moo, but at the same time realizes the two of them don’t stand a chance against the hulking athletes. In the nick of time, the president of the Black Students Union steps in and Moo agrees to find a different way of getting back at the team.
By morning, all hell has broken loose on campus. Soup learns that Moo rounded up a bunch of “soft brothers” from school and went after the football players—only to take a beating. Feeling ashamed for not having been there for his friend, Soup stands by Moo’s side as his friend becomes the epicenter of campus-wide racial tensions.
When Soup’s real best friend, a white girl named Vee whom he secretly desires, returns from break and announces that she’s in love with him, Soup finds himself caught in the middle once again. As he delves deeper into Moo’s world of political activism, everything begins to fall apart, and Soup finds himself tempted to betray his brothers by giving in to Vee’s seductions. Can he overcome campus radicalism to be with the girl he loves?