Sleepy Shelter Island is abuzz: the local high school basketball star, as yet unsigned, is being wooed by every major college coach in the country. Reporter Bobby Kelleher gets caught up in the excitement - and then finds himself under suspicion when an old friend, now an assistant coach at Minnesota State University, is murdered.

Kelleher played college ball himself, for the University of Virginia, and he knows who's who among the coaches and colleges chasing the local kid. To avenge his friend's death - and clear himself - Kelleher plunges into the teeming network of coaches, assistants, sportscasters, equipment reps, agents, and others who stand to profit from the teenager's talent.

His search takes him beneath the surface of propriety carefully cultivated by the NCAA, deep into a ruthless world where illegal payments are just the start. As Kelleher closes in on the killer, his investigation begins to interfere with powerful people who would do anything to enrich themselves and their teams, and he soon finds his own life in jeopardy.