For pro hockey goon Shane Bronkovsky, things are going south. Disgraced enforcer Shane "Bronco" Bronkovsky crashes his motorcycle in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico. Injured and helpless, he is then robbed by mysterious passersby, but is eventually rescued by local rancher Tammy DeWitt, who takes Shane to the hardscrabble ranch she runs. At first shocked to discover the ranch raises rattlesnakes, Shane comes to relish the honest work and peace he finds there. His life quickly becomes entangled with those of the local denizens, including the ranch's children, and a romance with Tammy develops. Through the lives he touches and the people he helps, Shane strives for redemption. Yet, even as he struggles to tame the demons within and adjust to life away from the spotlight of professional sports, his past and present collide in an explosive climax.