On the eve of a high school football game of epic importance, the sleepy township of Crimson Falls, Kentucky will play host to a tsunami in human guise: a rage-filled returning prodigal son with a deadly score to settle. Left to die only to emerge from a fourteen-year coma a bitter, paraplegic shadow of his former self, Gunther McCarron has arisen phoenix-like to track down the culprit or culprits responsible not only for his current state of both physical and mental anguish but the unsolved slaying of a former love that same fateful night. With the unlikely aid of a similarly paralyzed police records clerk and the somber, tight-lipped uncle who represents his lone remaining kin, McCarron soon faces resistance both subtle and severe in his attempts to uncover the suspect or suspects responsible for the infamous cold case. As game day arrives and a fevered crowd packs the stadium to witness two bitter rivals clash for bragging rights and a probable state playoff bid, the snow-coated streets of Crimson Falls, Kentucky will soon run red with its town's namesake color.