The pony was so poor that although she still had her thick winter coat Sandy could have counted all her ribs. The knobs of her backbone stuck up like a ridge and the bones of her quarters were huge and angular under her harsh skin.

Sandy loves riding, even though she lives in a town and rides through the urban streets aren't the most thrilling thing she's ever done. Now she's moving to the country, and she's getting a present: at last, a pony. And she starts living the dream, trying out ponies, wondering if this one will be the one for her–but none of them are.

Then she meets Tarka, skin and bone after a cold winter out. Sandy has to save her. She buys Tarka, but that's when the dream starts to go wrong. Tarka is very sick; so sick she might die. Can Sandy and Tarka win through?

Hunting was legal when this book was written, and there is a hunting scene in it.