On a warm September night, 12-year-old Troy White sneaks out from his home and meets up with this friends and fellow Duluth Tiger teammates Tate and Nathan down by the railroad tracks. After waiting for the midnight express train to ominously roar past, the three make their way over to a hole in the concrete wall of the Cotton Wood Country Club.

Before he goes in alone, Troy thinks about the reward that lies on the other side of the wall.

Chapter 2 begins with a backstory explaining why Troy is sneaking into the Cotton Wood compound in the first place. Troy is attempting to steal an official Atlanta Falcons football from the home of Falcons star linebacker, Seth Halloway. Troy has been inside the compound before and knows that Seth stores official footballs in a mesh bag under the porch in his backyard.

Troy wants one of these balls because he lied to another boy on his junior football team—Jamie Renfro, son of their head coach, Coach Renfro. Jamie is the starting quarterback, and Troy is his backup. Tate and Nathan believe that Troy is a better quarterback, as he can both throw the ball farther and more accurately and also has an uncanny ability to predict the opposing team’s plays before they happen.