 Burning Clean follows Johnny, a young man caught between the grinding poverty of the urban ghetto and a con artist mother who depends on him for survival, on the day he must forsake her to save himself. On this morning, Johnny wakes to his mother s accusations that he has botched a simple scam, leaving them without enough money to payoff their inside man. His mother demands that he quickly make up for the lost money by committing an ill conceived and dangerous robbery. Sensing that he has become but another mark for his mother to con, Johnny flees with her money. In his flight he encounters Sonya, a young Bosnian mother desperately trying to return home to see her son. As each wait for a bus to New York City it is soon clear they are both hiding dark secrets while running from the past. In their brief meeting, Johnny will get the chance to face his truth, but the truth is never what it seems.