Harper's life just exploded. Her parents are getting a divorce and eleven-year-old Harper and her mother are starting again-in a cramped house, in a new town, where everything feels unfamiliar, including the riding stables next door. Harper has never been around horses before. And no, she does not want to learn to ride. Then a truck dumps a starved and neglected horse right in Harper's yard. One look at the horse's huge eyes and skinny body and something inside Harper unlocks. She names the horse Phoenix, and she will not give up on him. Neither, it turns out, will Phoenix give up on her. Will this be Harper's first step towards new friends? Towards riding?