Clay Watkins can't seem to stay out of trouble. Still haunted by the death of his father, Clay's troubles only grow when he moves to the small town where grandfather, Buster, is sheriff. Concerned for the angry young man his grandson has become, Buster sets up a roadblock on Clay's collision course with the law by presenting him with a choice: successfully navigate a 60-mile stretch of the rugged and perilous Pecos River or go to jail. Through the hardship, danger and beauty of life on the river, Clay must confront the fear and grief at the root of his anger and in doing so learns a few things about being a good man.