The Deep South in the 1950s was a time of innocence and conflict, when socioeconomic battles were quietly raging while most of the world looked the other way. Twelve-year-old Jessie Louden is a typical horse-crazy girl on the outside, but on the inside she is an abused, terrified child growing up in two worlds. Her mother's riding school keeps her safe from the dark family secrets that hold her prisoner. It's only when the beautiful but deadly horse Golden Revenge arrives at Louden Farm that Jessie begins to have hope for her future. Through "the training"-a supernatural gift of communication with horses passed down by her grandmother and mother-Jessie and Revenge forge a remarkable partnership that ultimately takes them to the top of international show jumping competition. Jessie's family tragedies and trials of domestic violence threaten to destroy the lives of everyone she loves. But through her gift, she must learn to survive, letting the remarkable horse teach her to how to trust, how to love, and how to live again.