Mike ("The Badger") Brockton graduates from high school as valedictorian, engaged, with a full scholarship to college. Then his life falls apart: his parents die and he is drafted into the Viet Nam War. Returning home injured, he is shocked to learn that his fiancee is marrying someone else. An Army buddy inadvertently entangles Mike with a drug-trafficking gang. Mike is set up for his buddy's murder but narrowly escapes with some drug money. He becomes a doctor and returns to his home town to practice. Mike meets and marries Susan. An idyllic life beckons once more.

But Susan has a family secret that ensnares Mike in a fight for his life and his family.