HARD ROAD Atlantic City, 1957 Roberto Varga and Michael Boyle are boxers and one time pals whose careers have gone in opposite directions since leaving St. Vincent's Asylum for Boys. Under the guidance of Father Tim back in Chicago, Varga learned values, respect, responsibility, and how to fight fair. Boyle was a different story - once away from the orphanage he quickly fell into the old routines and habits he learned on the streets. Two years after leaving St. Vincent's the fighters met in the ring where Boyle pounded out a bloody, lopsided decision that Varga swore wasn't on the up and up. Since that fight seven years earlier their careers took different paths - guided by a shrewd manager named Tommy Domino, Boyle has moved steadily through the middleweight ranks and is positioned for a title shot with Sugar Ray Robinson. Varga has struggled to carve out a name in an up and down career, still haunted by that bloody loss to Boyle. He keeps working for that one shot to catapult him back into contention. When the boxer scheduled to fight Boyle in Atlantic City breaks his hand two weeks before the fight, Domino scrambles for a replacement. He finds Varga toiling in a Philadelphia gym and offers him the rematch he's been waiting years to get. This fight is Varga's chance to finally even the score. Although the untrustworthy manager has never been a man of his word, Varga takes the fight with the hope that if he wins, he'll get that title shot he's always dreamed about. Varga heads to Atlantic City to prepare for the fight that can change his life.