Road To Athens is the story of a great distance runner written by a man who was a great runner himself, Jackson Sholz  (March 15, 1897 – October 26, 1986), former member of the American Olympic team.

The story opens in the ancient Greek town of Marathon. Two Nazi officers stand chatting on a street corner and towards them shuffles the town halfwit dragging his leg behind him. But he is not really a halfwit, he is lieutenant Stefan Zaner of the US Army working for the Greek underground and one of the Nazi's, Heir Wolf, recognizes him. He cannot remember where he has seen him before but when he does it could put their operation in jeopardy. They had competed against each other at the Olympic games in Berlin in 1936 and then Wolf had beaten Stefan.