Dessie and her brother Lem live a hard-scrabble life in an Eastern Kentucky coal mining town during the Great Depression. When their house burns down while their father is under the influence of alcohol, Lem must become a miner – a fate far different from his dream of working with horses. Determined to help Lem escape from the mine, Dessie leads him to Lexington and jobs as stable hands at Rutledge Farms. There, Dessie and Lem become entangled in mysterious events centered on Star of Destiny, an emotionally-damaged thoroughbred in training for the Kentucky Derby. When Star’s future is threatened, Dessie must find the cunning to protect the people she loves and the courage to face the secrets of her family’s past.