In the era of boxing's pay-per-view superstars, Tris Dixon invested in a Greyhound bus pass and spent months tracking down fighters from yesteryear who had vanished from the limelight. Venturing from New York to Las Vegas and from Toronto to Miami, the young writer—himself a former amateur boxer—sought out coulda-been-contenders and cult heroes from the 1950s to the 2000s. He visited old people's homes, gyms, and prisons, discovering that life after boxing is a cruel place when the ropes are no longer there to keep fighters safe from the world. Dixon meets men who shaped boxing history, fighting the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson. He shares their memories and weaves together their tales over the course of a remarkable journey.