Mike Petrov knows the children on his school transport route and the routines that help them feel safe. A widowed immigrant, he has worked to become someone others can depend on. Then a dark car moves toward his van as traffic tightens near St. Louis, and he has only a moment to react.

His decision saves eight children. It also leaves a police officer dead. Public praise turns into suspicion after a blood test, and the driver who protected his passengers must face a courtroom's judgment.

The Good Man's Burden follows the collision between personal responsibility, grief and public opinion. This legal and moral drama asks what justice can make of a man whose choices cannot be separated into a simple story of innocence or blame.