Bobby Lucero is the fastest runner in the history of his school, but his Olympic ambitions are crushed when a rare disease destroys his vision. Bitterly he retreats in defeat into himself. Working for VISTA on a New Mexico Indian reservation, he meets an angry young half-Indian girl and a reclusive Apache shaman who help him to confront the world and reclaim his ambition to be a champion. When the Olympic track team is denied a chance to win because of the 1980 Olympic boycott, Bobby is offered a chance to fulfill his dream and to meet the ultimate challenge of his life.