Enraged by the sale of the vaulting horse that she'd been promised as hers to ride, Gracieuse, a talented rider, dumps her job at a stable. She starts over again by accepting work as a groom at a dressage stud farm adjacent to her father's property. The owner, Joséphine de Silène, exploits with an iron fist the international renown of a German trainer, Franz Mann. This former champion, now cynical and worn-out, is sought out by female riders the world over, who fight each other for his knowledge--and for his attention. This microcosm of power and money has no time for Gracieuse, whose only assets are her talent, her fiercely-stubborn character, and, most particularly, her determination to succeed. A high-tension wire who's ready to stand up to Franz Mann and to face any obstacle, even if it means stepping outside the law, she pursues her sole obsession: to have a horse to call her own that she will take to the top.