Carter Morgan III hates everything about South Carolina University except for one thing: hockey. As the starting netminder for the team, he lives for those moments when he can step onto the ice and between the pipes. Unfortunately, his time at school and on the team is slowly coming to an end. Although he'd love nothing more than to pursue a career in the NHL, he knows better than to get his hopes up.

After a traumatizing event and rough sophomore year, Max Kuemper does his best to keep his head down and not draw attention to himself. School and hockey are the only two things he can handle; it's all he can do to keep himself afloat. He wants to forget about what happened to him and bring the secret to his grave. Confident and flirty Luke Kelly likes to play the field—dating as well as baseball. When he meets Max during a night shift at work, he takes an instant liking to him despite the other man's reserved exterior and shy personality.

Henri Vasel has perfected the art of people-pleasing. He's a good student, a fair hockey player, and has a group of friends he'd do anything for. He's happy. Or, rather, as happy as he can be when he has a class with the one person he can't seem to please at South Carolina University. Atlas Kaiser hates a lot of things, but right now he hates Henri Vasel the most. He doesn't want to have to stare at his perfect face or listen to his adorable German accent. He wants to be left alone. Unfortunately, they're partnered together for the semester.

Marcos meets a stranger at a party and wonders if the universe is laughing at him. His life has become a seemingly endless stream of bad days. Everything is a struggle, from his friendship with Max to the simple act of changing in the locker room after a baseball game. Stress and anxiety sit so heavily on his shoulders, he can barely function under the weight of it. Starting a relationship is the very last thing he wants or feels he deserves. Particularly when Nate—beautiful, gregarious, and kind Nate— could have anybody he wanted.

In the time it takes to answer a phone call, Desmond's life changes. Suddenly, he's a single parent to his nephew, living in South Carolina, and the assistant coach for the university hockey team. Life might not be great right now, but he's handling it. And things can't possibly get worse, right? Jack—the survivor of a horrific childhood—knows that things can always get worse. And right now, for him, worse is hockey. He loves the game and loves the friendships he's cultivated with his teammates, but that's where the good ends and the bad begins.