Chicago racetrack publicist Jack Doyle, former advertising man and amateur boxer, accepts the challenge of a new job in the world of thoroughbred horse racing-that of jockey’s agent. His client is a seventeen-year-old riding phenom from Ireland named Mickey Sheehan, who has decided to try her luck in the States. They prove to be an effective team until someone begins secretly administering dangerously illegal medications to horses, affecting race results. In his quest to identify the culprit, the shrewd, irreverent, and always opinionated Doyle is aided by his old friend Moe Kellman, furrier-to-the-Mob; trainer Ralph Tenuta, himself the target of a blackmailer; and young veterinarian Ingrid McGuire, a greatly talented horse communicator. Plus Jack and Moe become co-owners of a talented, bargain-priced colt named Plotkin, who provides several thrills, not all of them welcome.