Ben Tom Lawless and his two younger brothers are left by their parents to live with an uncle. On their first night in his house, they discover their uncle, a professional thief, stealing their most valued possessions. Living life surrounded by family role models that flaunt virtually all of society's rules, including the law, has deeply affected Ben Tom, but not in a way most would predict. His family's woeful inadequacies and criminal activities have imbued him with a superior sense of right and wrong. Being the firstborn son has implanted deep within him an almost obsessive need to protect and nurture others, often to the detriment of himself and his family. When his younger brothers march lockstep into the Lawless pit, Ben Tom risks everything to pull them out.