It’s spring of 2002 in the Black Country, and the changes underfoot might prove to be more than the locals can withstand. With local elections looming, a mosque is being built on the site where Cinderheath's iconic steelworks once centered the town. "The Tipton Three," from just down the road, are imprisoned in Guantanamo, and the British National Party—the "BNP"—expect to win new seats on the council. Despite it all, the town is getting geared up for the World Cup to begin with England to play Argentina. But first, a controversial Sunday-league game must take place, billed by the press as "a match to spark a race war." In the middle of the mess is Rob, a former professional soccer player like his famous father. He’s now a teaching assistant, sympathetic to the children of families he knows too well. On the soccer field, as the BNP prowl the touchlines, he finds himself facing Zubair, the brother of his missing best friend, and both men are bound together by the mystery of the disappearance.