In 1911, Taylor, a former big-league pitcher, has been sent down to the minor leagues at age 37 due to problems with his pitching arm.

He longs for a second chance and approaches his former manager, John McGraw, about re-joining the New York Giants.

Short of players, McGraw eventually agrees to take him on a post-season exhibition trip to play baseball in Cuba, where the political atmosphere is tense in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War.

Taylor encounters moral dilemmas as he balances his desire to return to the big leagues against difficult issues involving racism, discrimination, disability, fading dreams, and the sports philosophy of winning at any cost.

[1] Havana Heat won the Dave Moore Award in 2000 for the "most important baseball book" published that year.