Following a violent clash with vindictive animal poachers, game warden Sam Moody has been transferred. He's still reeling from his first patrol and the associated fallout that came with it. Although he has been allowed to retain his position as a warden, he's been busted in rank and relegated to a new responsibility on the river as a marine patrol officer. The river is a place of calm and quiet-except when fishing season is in full swing. Passionate about preservation, Sam is prepared to take his new position seriously, but he's fixated on what brought him to the water's edge. Despite his dedication to the job, he's distracted. He's preoccupied with thoughts of a fellow officer-who was murdered his rookie year during a routine marine patrol. With the help of a few selected comrades-men he trusts through and through-he formulates a plan to track down the men responsible for the officers' death. Still on thin ice with the law enforcement administration, Sam finds time between river rescues to formulate a plan and seek out the people responsible for a fellow warden's untimely demise.