Twelve-year-old Cassie Piotrowski's dream of owning a horse becomes a reality when her dad receives an unexpected promotion at work despite the nation's economic struggles of 1975, but things don't go quite like she plans.
When Cassie, her dad, and Stan Hoffman—manager at Oak Lane Stable where Cassie rides and has helped out for a few years—spend a Saturday morning looking at a few possibilities for her, they come across four neglected horses headed for the kill pens. Despite Cassie pleading with her dad to rescue at least the bay horse, who seems to hold the most promise of the four, Cassie's dad refuses to buy any of them. Cassie is surprised the next day when she discovers the bay horse grazing in a paddock at Oak Lane Stable. She will need to convince her dad that the bay horse is perfect for her before the horse's mysterious past catches up to him and she loses him forever to new owners.
In addition to spending the summer before eight grade hoping to finally get a horse, Cassie's friendship with Ingrid—one of her two best horsey friends—is tested when Cassie's secret crush asks Ingrid out on a movie-with-pizza-afterwards date. Despite being in the middle of horse-craziness, Cassie wonders if boys will ever ask her out.
