Tom Alford loves horses and he loves his work at Squire Prideaux’s stables where Rapier, his master’s magnificent gelding, is under his care. He loves it that is, until a mysterious stranger threatens to give him away for breaking a rule he did not even know existed. Now he is in the power of an informer who wants him to betray his friend, Nick. For Nick meets with a group of townspeople to read the Bible and pray together and this is 1685: such meetings are illegal. Nick wants Tom to think about serious issues of life and death but such things seem unreal: surely, death is a long way off. Or is it? When the squire and Tom’s friends decide to back the Duke of Monmouth’s rebel army, Tom is caught up in a conflict that leads to the brink of disaster. What will happen to Rapier in the battle and can Nick’s friendship with wild creatures get them both out of danger?