Our brains are designed to protect our bodies. Russ Clayton is a distance runner who wants to learn how to ignore his brain. Clayton hears about Brad Coy, once the fastest marathoner on the planet. But, thirty years ago Coy lost a gold medal to a doper, Yuri Grimlov. Now he is a recluse living in New Mexico and, instead of trying for medals, Coy has tried to learn how to ignore his brain. Some say he succeeded and shattered world records, running naked across the desert with a shaman and racing animals. To learn Coy's secrets, Clayton must give up everything he knows and loves. Across the globe, the Russians want to prove they have the best distance runners in the world who do not dope. They charge Grimlov with the job. If he fails, it's the Gulag. Grimlov picks identical twins to train and secretly dopes one but not the other. But, under the skin, the brothers are nothing alike. When one twin learns of Grimlov's plan, that discovery tests the bounds of his love. Whether champions are made by science, cheaters or those who can transcend their brain is decided when Russ and the Twins face off.