2020 Dr Tony Ryan Book Award finalist!

"Shantz has written a fantastic debut novel set within the behind-the-scenes setting of the (Canadian) racing industry with backdrops of Woodbine and its Queen's Plate, Churchill Downs...and Snowbird destinations like Gulfstream and Payson Park." – Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

If Liv wasn't such a control freak, it wouldn't have rubbed her the wrong way when the farm's new exercise rider stepped in to resuscitate newborn Chique, the first foal out of her father's favourite mare. Nate's equal parts good-looking and good with horses, and the kind of distraction she can't afford as a woman trying to make it in a man's world.

When she drops out of vet school to get her jockey's license in New York, intent on coming back to Ontario to ride Chique in the Queen's Plate–Canada's most prestigious race–Nate's skill and dedication make him the obvious choice to keep an eye on the filly.

He's not supposed to become key to her plan.

Tragedy brings her home prematurely, disrupting her career, and her life. Now if Chique's going to become the racehorse she's meant to be – and Liv's going to find significance again – she'll have to let go of her stubborn ideals and let Nate in, to her dream...and her heart.