In Greece, in 430 BC, Nic sets out to search of his friend, Gellus, at Olympia in order to save him from his awaiting enemies and the challenge of the Pankration, the most vicious and brutal sport in all the games.
Having been kidnapped from a ship leaving plague-ridden Athens in 430 B.C., twelve-year-old Nic attempts to escape his captors and keep his promise to meet his friend at the Olympic games