影片根据丹尼尔·詹姆斯·布朗的同名畅销小说改编，讲述1936年，华盛顿大学几个普通家庭成长的男生组建了一支赛艇队，他们一路过关斩将，在比赛中接连击败哈佛大学和耶鲁大学，还击败了东道主德国最强赛艇队，最终斩获奥运会金牌。

Summertime, 1994. In a quiet mining village just outside Doncaster, a rumour stirs about the legend of a giant carp in the nearby decoy ponds. Trevor takes watch one night at the water's edge. The following night, he decides to lead a brigade of young friends and neighbours on a fishing expedition. In a world of broken families, cassette tapes and rumbling political fever, these friends, each with their own struggles to bear, share a moment of harmony as they witness the carp for themselves that they will never forget.