Allison Becker was raised on abuse and anger. She carries this anger with her through college and an assortment of jobs. She is determined to pull herself up from the ashes, to be independent, and to avoid the trap her mother was in-married to a controlling drunk who slapped her and her children around. Mark Moore is a successful businessman who is tired of working twelve hours a day, seven days a week. He spent eight years in the Marines. After the service, he worked hard, paid attention, and took advantages of all legal and barely legal opportunities that came his way. Now he owns the largest liquor and beer distributorship in the Southeast. He is also tired of living his life alone, just hooking up with a woman for sex and then having to shake her loose if she gets clingy. They meet when Allison starts a fight in Mark's bar. He is intrigued with her beauty and wonders about the chip on her shoulders. She likes what she sees on the surface and is willing to have a physical relationship with him, but she is waiting for his true colors to show.