Coming of age in small-town Oklahoma. High schooler Cal Chetley is a brainy beanpole. He lives with his widowed mother: ten years earlier, his father, a state champion in wrestling, died in a car crash. Cal's older brother Mike, also a former champion and now down and out at 28, is estranged from the family. Over the course of a fall and winter, we watch Cal join the high school wrestling team and search out Mike to ask for help. Mike rejects the offer, but Cal is persistent. What if Mike accepts the challenge, is he destined to let Cal down? Giving advice and encouragement are an enigmatic old man and Cal's quirky neighbor, Lori. Plus, there's Cal's mom to reckon with.