It's the early 80s and freshman Andy Martin has more on his mind than sex and term papers. His tongue's been severed, his family's gone, and now he's a murder suspect.

As he earns his stripes as a New Boy on a college rugby team, he uncovers a sordid family secret that shatters his belief in his teammates, and ultimately in himself.

EXCERPT

Andy Martin knew he was hurt, but he had yet to feel the pain. His tongue severed nearly in half, hung out over his jaw; his lower lip clung to a Dixie cup full of ice. The ice numbed his tongue enough so he was aware only of the flapping of the loose flesh against his chin and the coppery taste of blood in his mouth. It was a strange contrast: the cold of the icy wax paper and the warm, trickling ooze of blood. Andy tried not to swallow, instead letting the slippery rivulet of blood and saliva run down his chin and drip on the front of his blue-and-gold striped rugby jersey.