Scott Armstrong grew up on the Mississippi in Wisconsin, dreaming of college football glory, but promised his dying grandfather to attend the Air Force Academy instead. His career in Intelligence and then Special Tactics takes him all over the world, battling the enemies of his country, but then it all comes crashing down. His marriage implodes, and then his final mission goes sideways, leading to a strong suggestion that he retire. Although he's not ready, Scott signs the papers. The only place he knows to go now is back home, to a cabin along the mighty river in southwest Wisconsin.
With no family nearby and his high school gridiron glory a distant memory, Scott has to start over. It isn't long before he discovers that things in his placid home county are not what they seem. Underneath the pleasant day-to-day routine of life along the river lurks an evil that has sent many lives down the destructive path of addiction, and is about to become even more dangerous, setting its sights on the young girls of the county. Trying to stay above the fray, Scott focuses his attention on Beth, a divorcee who has rebuilt her life with her teenage daughter, Emily, a budding volleyball star. But when Emily becomes the target of the criminal enterprise that has already poisoned the county, Scott is forced to become "the man in the arena" his grandfather called on him to be.