With his heart and soul in turmoil, Frank Darling returns to Nicaragua seven years after serving as a U.S. military advisor during the Contrarrevolucion in 1985, seeking penitence for his role in several sanctioned killings, unaware that he himself is the target of a murder plot by his former handler. A living example of traditional Appalachian culture, his blood-guilt cannot be assuaged by religion, counselors, or family. With a sense of atonement finally within reach, the confrontation pitting him against a ruthless Nicaraguan colonel and his old partner force him to choose between the brutal, cold-blooded killer he became, and the simple-hearted, religious man he once was.