Claire Corbett

A timid 18-year-old from inner-city Dublin prepares for her boyfriend's debs (Ireland's version of the prom), but her social anxieties and struggles with her mother’s alcoholism make life difficult.

During the 1860s, Dave Powers, apprentice to a horse trainer, volunteers to ride Archer to the Melbourne Cup race. Their start is 600 miles from Melbourne, and the journey is anything but easy. Of course, the pair have numerous adventures along the way, and in the end Archer competes in the Melbourne Cup race.