Jim is introduced to the intensely competitive world of Florida high school football as the small town of Pahokee prepares for the annual "Muck Bowl," an event that draws national attention because of the many NFL players who came from that area and who have played in that game. When the dead body of a businessman emerges from the muck in a sugar cane field days before the big game, Longworth must figure out who would want the man dead.

Shopkeeper Michael Nelson's son and right hand Lenny Nelson's wife Lisa is murdered outside a bar. Utterly confused Dave Rollins needs hospital care and keeps referring to 'a man just like me' killing Lisa. Jim doubts his confession and digs into the Nelsons' unharmonious past and present lives, using Daniel as bait to expose Lisa's prostitution.