"Don't Hate the Game" tells the story of a girl with a troubled past. Tiesha lives with her mother, Carmen, and her mother's boyfriend, Wesley-Wes for short. Wes and Carmen fight all the time-to the point of abuse. When that happens, Ti escapes to a friend's home to stay until it gets better. One day Wes beats Carmen so badly that she winds up recovering in the hospital for almost two weeks. When her mother comes home, things between her and Wes continue to deteriorate. They don't have much money for food, and their apartment is now cold most of the time. As Christmas approaches, Ti hopes that things will get better-until Wes does the unimaginable. Ti survives; her mother is not so lucky. Twenty years later, Ti is a successful adult, having grown into the good life via hustling and club ownership. She hasn't forgotten her past, though, and now she's out for blood and revenge-seeking to right the wrongs done to her and her mother.