Tarnished Image

Following the death of Hickory Farm's owner Davis Whitman, his granddaughter, Jennifer Blake must face a battle of conscience and decide if she can accept an inheritance from the man she has despised all her life. Is she prepared to leave everything she treasures in Los Angeles for the country life on a Tennessee Walking Horse breeding farm? Her decision could jeopardize all that she holds dear and change her life forever. To reach a decision, Jennifer must face her legacies from the past, in spite of how they might clash with her future. Hickory Farms trainer, Cole Ryan is recruited by the US Department of Agriculture to help expose the practice of soring, a method of accentuating a Walking Horse's gait by irritating its forelegs with the injection of chemicals or the application of mechanical irritants. Cole is determined to prove his flat-shod stallion, Midnight, can compete and win against the sored and abused 'big lick' horses that dominate the Walking Horse world. It's a battle that eventually threatens everything he loves, puts his family in grave danger and threatens to resurrect a past he prefers was left buried. A shroud of secrecy, unprincipled corruption and unlimited capital successfully protects the 'Horse Mafia' from critics, government and the law. The members have their own techniques for swiftly and successfully dealing with any dissension in the lucrative Tennessee Walking Horse industry. With an unwritten mandate dedicated to protecting unscrupulous owners and trainers who preserve their competitive edge by soring their horses, the Mafia is a power unto itself and not one easily conquered. When a flop-eared puppy, an abused little boy and a spectacular horse join forces to influence Cole and Jennifer, their individual, long protected independence is seriously threatened. The fierce and powerful forces bring them together in a struggle that has sometimes humorous, often romantic but finally very deadly consequences.