Set from 1996, Danny Kelly is a talented swimmer who attends a prestigious Melbourne private school on a sporting scholarship. Being from a Greek/Irish working class background, Danny is the target of harassment from the privileged students. He yearns to win swimming gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. He is taken under the wing of highly regarded coach Frank Torma and develops a friendship/rivalry with teammate Martin Taylor which inspires Danny to become a world record holder.