Nikias is amazed by the speed of Alkides, who he races against in the Isthmian games. He even wonders if the older boy is the god Apollo in disguise. At Delphi, where they race again, he realizes Alkides is only a boy, although a rather amazing boy. While in Delphi, Nikias receives a disturbing prophecy from the oracle and his life and that of Alkides become entwined. Nikias knows that he must lose all he loves to gain the deepest desire of his heart, but what is that desire and is it worth the cost? Nikias is a story of young love in Ancient Greece, during the war between Athens and Sparta.