The sins of the fathers. In a town near Little Rock, Lucy Fowler works hard for a construction firm; on weekends she drinks, goes home with someone, and come early morning, wakes and leaves as fast as she can. She cares a lot about her father, newly back in town, a painfully shy man who has nothing to say to her. She does go to a Holy Roller church with him about the same time that she starts, fitfully, a relationship with Cal Percell, new in town and a good guy. She kisses him sober, but still has demons to confront. What's the source of her careless ways; can she turn coal into a diamond?

Terry Brogan, an aging football player in L.A., is cut early in the season; he needs money, so he takes a job from a shady friend of his, Jake Wise, to track down Wise's girlfriend, Jessie, who's somewhere in Mexico. She's also the daughter of a very wealthy land developer, who owns Terry's team. He heads for Cozumel, finds Jessie, and promptly falls in love with her. He thinks it's mutual, then without warning, she heads back to L.A. and Jake. What's going on with her, and what's the connection between Jake's hold on Jessie and the various politicians, lawyers, and environmentalists who seem to be converging on some sort of land deal? Terry keeps looking for answers.

Greg Powell is a disturbed ex-con who recruits Jimmy Smith (aka Jimmy Youngblood), a petty thief, as his partner in crime...