Johnson high school will never forget the day when ex-student Jason Copeland decided to inflict a devastating revenge on the system that had rejected him. Armed and dangerous, he marched into the school and started to fire indiscriminately at both students and staff, then took dozens of terrified students hostage, barricaded himself into a classroom and began a bloody reign of terror.

But from this murderous mayhem, an unlikely hero emerged: Deputy Skip Fine. Ignoring the mockery of both his colleagues and the FBI, Fine took on the role of go-between- knowing that only his courage and negotiating skills could prevent even more bloodshed.