Walt Kowalski, an iron-willed veteran living in a changing world, who is forced by his immigrant neighbors to confront his own long-held prejudices. The people he once called his neighbors have all moved or passed away, replaced by Hmong immigrants, from Southeast Asia, he despises. Resentful of virtually everything and everyone he sees, Walt is just waiting out the rest of his life, until the night his teenage neighbor Thao tries to steal his prized '72 Gran Torino, under pressure from Hmong gang-bangers. But Walt stands in the way of both the heist and the gang, making him the reluctant hero of the neighborhood-especially to Thao's mother and older sister, Sue, who insist that Thao work for Walt as a way to make amends. Though he initially wants nothing to do with these people, Walt eventually gives in and puts the boy to work, setting into motion an unlikely friendship that will change both their lives.