Christian Roberts, lanky, blond, and twenty-five-years-old, rents out small sailboats on Sarasota Bay. His peaceful life is shattered when he accepts a Thoroughbred colt from his estranged, dying father, an Ocala horse trainer. When Christian promises his father that heтАЩll race the colt, heтАЩs plunged into the underworld of horse racing. To navigate his way he naively hires Ed Price, a heartless Miami trainer. And when his colt shows potentialтАФand a surprising resemblance to SecretariatтАФa dubious, wealthy sheik wants to buy him, but Christian vows to keep his promise to his father. With a sizable debt still owed on the horse, Christian is forced to take out a loan, his only recourse, Vince, a New York mobster. If the money is not repaid on time, ChristianтАЩs life and that of Allie, his coltтАЩs trainer, are threatened. To add to his roller-coaster of troubles, he also faces fraud charges since his father illegally registered the colt, and he is being stalked by a psychotic ex-girlfriend.