After the death of his parents, an introverted private school wrestling star is torn from his sheltered life in suburban Connecticut and thrust into a gritty Philadelphia public school, where he is befriended by an eccentric freshman girl who shows him that there’s more to life than khaki pants and collared shirts.

The agonizing death of his mother drives a young man into the brutal and dangerous world of international bike racing, where he encounters cheaters, dopers, crashes, road rash, concussions, broken bones, death, love, defeat and ultimately victory.