Retired Air Force Sergeant Robert Madden thought his wars were behind him, but as he entered Tres Rios, New Mexico, a new war was just beginning. When Madden stops at Tres Rios on his way to California to pursue a doctorate in education, he didn't expect to stay past lunch. A run-in with a local drug lord halts all of his plans. To escape from a corrupt police force and legal action, Madden is given a choice in punishment--state prison or a year teaching troubled kids at the local rural school. Faced with the toughest school he has ever experienced and a local drug lord with a score to settle with Madden, he must use all of his special force's military training and classroom management skills to survive and protect his students.