Don Cammond was a successful businessman and an excellent athlete who , as a result of pain caused by a sports injury , becomes trapped in O xy C ontin and alcohol addiction. He manages to regain his sobriety but loses everything and winds up living on the edge of society with what he calls ' thin liners ' . Thin liners are not criminals per se but are walking on the thin line between honesty and criminality. Despite his best intentions , as he lives with them, he is drawn further and further into their lifestyle. Finally, as with his sobriety, he must find a way out.