Son Hayes never speaks of the scars on his back. The shotgun pellets left under his skin are a sporadic pattern of blue-black dots. The men he works with take bets on how he got them, but his brothers, Boy and Kid Hayes, don't discuss it. His past, just like these scars, is never far behind him. This stands true for the memory of his father, a man who never bothered to give his children proper names. He left the three brothers - Son, Boy and Kid - when they were young. Their memories are of a violent drunk who never hesitated to put his own needs ahead of his family. The brothers were left to be raised by their mother, a hateful woman, who to this day blames her children for the life she's been left with and the man she could not keep. Their father sobered up, became a devout Christian, married a wonderful woman, and fathered four new sons - all of whom received proper names - and his became a model to which most would aspire: successful in business, community and family. But when he dies unexpectedly of a heart attack, and his first sons are not invited to the funeral, their bitter resentment sparks a vicious blood war between the two families.