After leaving his previous coaching position, Michael Burns accepts a position as assistant football coach/high school librarian in Columbia Beach, VA, "The Paradise on the Potomac." If only it had lived up to its name. Although the 1978 football season at Columbia Beach HS could have taken place during any year at any school in any small town in America, for Michael Burns it becomes a defining moment. What he's searching for is a fresh start on a level playing field, but what he gets are out-of-control coaches, high-maintenance players, and teachers who can't keep their hands to themselves....