Running from God, Jacob Springer returns to his boyhood home, the Democratic Republic of Zaire. Springer buries himself in his work as préfet of an African high school, only to find that one of the students, Yango Zalonga, a naturally gifted runner, draws him out and drags him across the red earth back toward faith. Springer finds his life inextricably woven with that of this young African, and together, they aim for the Olympic Marathon. This is based on a true story.