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In 1959 Winnsboro, South Carolina, is young Jack Sorrell, a moonshine distiller with two dreams: To become a NASCAR champion and to put his younger sister Lauren through nursing school at the University of South Carolina. With the help of his trusted childhood ally Cletus Simpkins, Jack purchases a 1959 Pontiac Catalina, which he dubs Thunderbolt, to facilitate his moonshine and racing careers. With the help of his trusted mechanic and close friend Ezekiel Farmer, Jack both transports his contraband to various liquor houses, mostly in the capital city of Columbia, and uses Thunderbolt to further his racing skills.
Meanwhile, Jack's closest rival, a psychotic malignant narcissist named Gil McKinnon, tries to buy the Sorrell family moonshine recipe. When Jack spurns McKinnon, he frames Jack for the murder of a State Trooper. The killing of the trooper garners the attention not only of the South Carolina Highway Patrol, but also of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and also that of the Columbia Police Department.
Simultaneously, Gil McKinnon, trying to complete a large illegal liquor order for a Chicago market, sends a batch of defective moonshine to Chicago, and it kills a man connected to the mafia. A hit is put out on McKinnon, and he is on the hot seat for the death.
As these events are playing out, Detectives Philip DuBose and Jeffrey Klein of the Columbia Police Department are investigating the shooting death of a low-level criminal in a grocery store parking lot. Unbeknownst to DuBose and Klein, the shooting victim was killed by Gil McKinnon, but Jack Sorrell comes to their attention because of the death of the State Trooper, and their investigation shifts to him. SLED Agent Paul Canfield, who wants revenge for the murder of the State Trooper, becomes is obsessed with executing Jack Sorrell for the killing of the Trooper.
Back in Winnsboro Jack is directly threatened by Gil McKinnon, and quickly realizes he is being sought by law enforcement for more than just bootlegging. As Gil McKinnon increasingly loses support from his local criminal allies due to the questionable quality of his illicit liquor, he becomes more and more desperate. When he realizes a hit has been put out on him from up north, and he discovers his South Carolina contacts are quickly abandoning him, McKinnon makes a final bid: He kidnaps Lauren Sorrell and holds her hostage, giving her a choice: Submit to him or die. McKinnon then notifies Jack that he is holding Lauren captive, and McKinnon gives Jack a choice: Acquiesce to McKinnon's games or let his beloved sister die.
As the events escalate, Jack realizes two things: He has to reckon with the threat Gil McKinnon represents to him and his family, and that he will have to reckon with this danger on his own, because the police are after him as well. With no one to turn to, Jack seeks to meet McKinnon's threats directly, no matter the cost.