From the outside looking in, thirteen year old Charlie Johnson is like a lot of kids his age. He has a best friend, a hard-working father, and is on his school's swim team. But that's where normal stops for Charlie. His mother has passed away, he battles to hide his compulsions, and his best and only friend Brian keeps getting Charlie in trouble. When Charlie and Brian are arrested, Charlie's dad is forced to send him to live with Charlie's Uncle Mark in a small town in Minnesota. In Cedar Bluff, Minnesota, Charlie learns the meaning of hard work and giving back to his community. But when Brian makes a surprise visit and a flash flood threatens to take away all that he has worked for, can Charlie finally make the choice to clean his hands?