Enraged by the sale of the vaulting horse that she’d been promised as hers to ride, Gracieuse, a talented rider, dumps her job at a stable. She starts again from zero by accepting work as a groom at a dressage stud farm adjacent to her father’s property. The owner, Joséphine de Silène, exploits with an iron fist the international renown of a German trainer, Franz Mann. This former champion, now cynical and worn out, is sought out by female riders the world over, who fight each other for his knowledge – and for his attention. This microcosm of power and money has no time for Gracieuse, whose only assets are her talent, her fiercely stubborn character, and, most particularly, her determination to succeed. A high tension wire who’s ready to stand up to Franz Mann and to face any obstacle, even if it means stepping outside the law, she pursues her sole obsession: to have horse to call her own that she will take to the top.

Will, an unemployed and aimless playboy living in Brooklyn, has spent his 20s skating on easy charm from one casual, distant affair to the next. Noticing his friends’ happiness as they gradually settle into steady jobs and committed relationships, Will decides to trade apathy for effort in order to find someone with whom he can start the next chapter of his life.