In a land of story tellers, legends and beliefs carried down through generations, so it was in Ireland in 1800 for Tom Forde, who carried the spirit of his grandfather's stories as the Irish struggled to maintain their identity and live in community with all their pleasures and hardships. Tom vowed that one day he would own a worthy thoroughbred, like those he tended on the plantation of Sir Lambert. All he needed was a little luck. By the spirits before him, his ambition was reaffirmed by Mave, the pishogue. His opportunity came with a wild chestnut filly, rejected by Sir Lambert as a misfit. To the glory of his countrymen, he tamed the beast and found success; yet, the ruling class gentry were distrustful of Irish foolery and believed the rising success of one Irishman would bring on a hundred. Tom did not consider the consequences of his ambition, nor did his brother, Mart, who gave in to a forbidden love, one that he kept secret even from his brother. With their earthly passions for love and success, they faced not only personal challenges, but the consequences of a cultural divide. Tom faced the fate of his ambition, possible persecution and isolation, but the irony of his fate might still bring him luck.
