Castle Cranshaw—who gives himself the nickname “Ghost”—has a hard time in school following a traumatic event that happened to him when he was in fourth grade. Ghost’s father is an alcoholic, and one night he got drunk and fired a pistol at Ghost and his mother, Terri, as they were fleeing their home. Luckily, the bullets missed their mark, but Ghost’s father ended up going to prison for 10 years. Although Ghost has some friends, he isn’t close with any of his classmates, and an older student named Brandon Simmons regularly bullies him. Ghost’s life changes, however, when he comes across a track practice for a team known as the Defenders. He races the fastest member of team, Lu, and the race ends in a tie. Otis Brody, the team’s coach, recruits Ghost to the team because he is so impressed. Ghost warns Coach Brody that he will have to convince Terri to let him on the team. Coach Brody talks to Terri and promises her that Ghost will be kicked off the team he if causes any trouble in or out of school. Terri agrees to Coach Brody’s terms.
The next day at school, Ghost gets into a fight with Brandon and gets sent to the principal’s office. He gets suspended from school for the rest of the day and, rather than call his mother, he calls Coach Brody to come pick him up. Coach Brody signs Ghost out of school and gives him a stern lecture. Then, he teaches Ghost how to warm up for track practice and makes him run sprints until he is exhausted. Ghost quickly figures out that the sprints are a form of punishment for misbehaving at school.
Following his first day of practice, Ghost cuts up his high-top sneakers with scissors to help him run faster. However, at school the next day, everyone laughs at him because his shoes look ridiculous. He leaves school in the middle of the day because he is embarrassed and angry. Then, Ghost walks into a sporting goods store in town where he steals a pair Nike running shoes. Later, he lies to Coach Brody and says his mother bought him the shoes to encourage him to stick with track.
Ghost gradually gets to know the other rookies on the team, including Sunny, Patty, and Lu. At first, Ghost and Lu do not get along. Lu is insecure and resentful because he is embarrassed of his albinism. Ghost misreads Lu’s insecurity for arrogance, which he cannot stand. However, after a rookie dinner with Coach Brody, Ghost feels himself becoming close friends with all the rookies, including Lu.
Everything goes well for Ghost until Uniform Day, which occurs leading up to the track team’s first official competition. Everyone gets a uniform except for Ghost. When Ghost asks Coach Brody why he did not receive a uniform, Coach Brody reveals that he just found out that Ghost stole the Nikes. While picking up the uniforms, Coach Brody spotted Ghost’s picture with the word “shoplifter” under it in the sporting goods store. This discovery results in Coach Brody and Ghost having a heart-to-heart about what it is like to grow up in Glass Manor and live an impoverished life. Coach Brody tells Ghost that he also used to live in Glass Manor with an abusive, drug-addicted father.
Coach Brody gives Ghost a second chance and decides to let him run for the Defenders. However, before he is allowed to run, Coach Brody makes Ghost clean his car and apologize to the clerk at the sporting goods store for stealing. Then, he buys Ghost the sneakers that he stole. The following Saturday, Terri, Ghost’s Aunt Sophie, and his cousin, King, show up to watch Ghost run. Coach Brody asks Ghost to run the 100-meter sprint, the most important race of the day. While approaching the starting line, Ghost sees Brandon and learns that he runs for another team in the city. Brandon sneers at Ghost and begins mocking him. However, Lu steps in and sticks up for Ghost, while encouraging him to ignore Brandon. Eager to beat Brandon, Ghost steps up to the starting line. Then, a gunshot goes off, signaling the start of the race.
