Sonny Bear is used to the jeers. He's been an outsider all his life. The Moscondagas on the Reservation see him as white. Whites see him as Indian. So far, Sonny's managed to harness his anger - what he calls "the monster" - in the boxing ring. But Sonny wants out of the Res. He's sick of his uncle Jake's Redskin fairy tales about who he is and what he should be. He's headed for New York City, where nobody can tell him what to do. Sonny doesn't count on stepping into the middle of an intense dope war when he gets there - or on tangling with a tough Harlem-boxer-turned-cop named Alfred Brooks. Brooks seems to think that Sonny's got the talent to make it to the top - to be a contender. But first Sonny's got to learn to act smart, take control of his life... and beat the monster. Only it isn't as easy as it sounds...