The murder conviction of the former middleweight boxer Ranja Williams in 1950 demoralized his six-year-old son, Chako. Without a role model in his life, Chako became a notorious street fighter, terrorizing his school classmates and teachers at Oakland Tech Memorial High School. This all changed the day Chako was challenged by Scott Johnson, a substitute teacher who was a former Olympic wrestler. The lives of both individuals were altered with that confrontation, as they discovered that the quest for fame and recognition would demand a far greater sacrifice than they could imagine.