Eight-man football has a stronghold in the small towns of northeastern Montana.

In Kursland, in 1959, a mysterious man becomes the coach, and the members of the team will carry his lessons beyond their playing days. One member of the team ultimately becomes a teacher and football coach at Kursland and brings into his life the influence of a Native American, an Amish friend, a stoical science teacher, and an alluring female math teacher from Sweden. The setting reflects the lasting calm of small-town living, the character of the people, and the enduring tranquility of the natural world.