Over the space of several weeks in the summer of 1935, 13 starving horses and ponies, along with one very fat pony and a goat, are left in Woodhill, Ohio. The people of Woodhill rally behind horse owner Laura Darvey and newly arrived Ramona Hernandez, to help restore the abused horses to health. The unknown person behind the arrival of the horses earns the nickname, The Horse Fairy, but The Horse Fairy is not out to save lives; he is racketeer Bobby Darvey, who is determined to harm Laura and Fire Chief Jake McCann to avenge his cousin, Dan Darvey's death. Bobby wants the abused horses to pass on a disease that will kill all of Laura's horses, and he is determined to see Jake publicly humiliated and forced out of his job. For this, Bobby uses two Woodhill residents who want to oust Jake from the chief's job for their own agenda. Among the victims in Bobby's scheme are Alex Carpenter and Nelson Dobos, who learn too late that Alex's son, Bill, is working for Bobby and could be a danger to them both. With advice from his father, New York City homicide detective J. P. McCann, and the help of Woodhill Police Chief, Matt Gardner, Jake teams up with Bobby's top man, Benjy Talbot, to stop Bobby from carrying out his plans for vengeance.