Hazel had been scared of horses her entire life, and an earlier attempt to conquer her fear ended in failure. She was still overcoming fear in other areas, particularly traveling around the world with her job and reporting on areas recovering from war, famine, disease, and catastrophe. She eventually took up riding again, only to face bigger fears when illness struck her. Even worse, her father's dementia grew so bad that her mother had a heart attack and Hazel had to put her father into a home. As illness threatened to derail her career, and family tragedy looked likely to break her heart, she was loaned a big old horse named Duke. He stood far taller than her at every point, and she was afraid. Yet somehow, as she rode him through the Hampshire countryside, she found solace and healing. Gradually, her fears began to subside.