Resident trooper Des Mitry is getting complaints about a new family in rustic Dorset. Da Beast, Tyrone Grantham, is a suspended NFL player whose persona is tough, not genteel. Papparazzi follow him around and clog the winding streets. And, of course, he, like Des, is African-American. When his sister-in-law is found almost dead, she won't tell the police what happened to her. But everyone suspects that Tyrone's recent efforts to reform have not been successful. Des's significant other, movie critic Mitch Berger, puts the pieces together and comes up with a different total.