15-year-old Jenny's unhappy life with her poor and difficult family undergoes a dramatic change when her penniless but ever-optimistic grandfather acquires a very frightened, unpromising-looking colt and gives it to Jenny to care for.
Her dreams for Darkling, her passion for an ambitious young Jockey, Goddard, and her loyalty to her grandfather weave a tangled web in this coming-of-age story as bitter secrets emerge from her family's past and force Jenny to make decisions about her future.