Pepper Marshall just signed a ten million dollar contract to play one year of baseball. At his press conference he announces that, despite being only 28 years old, he will retire at the end of the year to study Eastern Mysticism and spend more time with his family. The media doesn't buy it. Local radio shows call it a ploy to get a bigger contract, the Washington Times calls him selfish, and Time Magazine dismisses him as the mystic man of baseball. Whether Marshall likes it or not he has become a lightning rod for a national debate on professional athletes and family values. The story plays out during Marshall's final season with the Washington Senators. The backdrop for the story is the headlines, sound bytes, and radio talk-jocks make Marshall's retirement national news. Through it all - mentoring a rookie, an odd bench clearing brawl, a proposition from a woman he can't refuse, and a run for the World Series - Marshall must keep his focus on baseball and the things in his life that matter most.