It`s been three months since his father`s death and Ricky secretly agrees with what everyone else is saying-- The best thing your father ever did was get himself killed. Still haunted by the memories of his abusive father, Ricky tries to settle down but he continually gets in fights--especially on the school bus. Told he`ll be kicked out if he gets into one more fight, Ricky decides to run the three miles from his house to school rather than risk riding the bus. As time goes by, Ricky finds that running helps him handle his emotions. Now a strong runner, Ricky sets a new goal for himself: he`ll race the bus to school--and win.