Middle-aged Sam's life is in a downward slide. He smokes and drinks too much. He's seriously out of shape and overweight. He lives life vicariously through T.V. sports stars. One day in 1982, he comes across the telecast of a race taking place in Kona, Hawaii. He's enthralled as he watches athletes cross the finish line after completing a grueling swim, bike, and run. For days he can't stop thinking about the race. It's calling to him. Some unseen force is taunting him. It's challenging him. Finally Sam decides he has to go to Kona. He can't swim a stroke, has never been on a road bike, and hasn't run since he was a kid. Sam doesn't care. He's going.
Sam arrives in Kona two years later despite seemingly impossible odds. Once there he meets Morgan, a remarkable and fiery teenage girl. Morgan is a fierce competitor and she's on a mission. Sam is in Kona just hoping to survive the race and Morgan wants to beat as many people as she can. This is the story of their unlikely alliance. This is the story of the day they take on the most challenging endurance race in the world. This is a story about the power of the human spirit, and what people are truly capable of once they begin to believe in themselves.