Kennie McLaughlin is a nine-year-old boy in early twentieth-century Wyoming. His father, Rob, is a rancher. Kennie is eager to follow in his father’s footsteps, and he dreams of having his own colt to raise, like his brother Howard did. When Kennie ends the school year with poor grades, Rob urges him to spend the summer focused on his studies. Nell, the boys’ mother, notices Kennie’s lack of enthusiasm for schoolwork and convinces Rob that a colt might teach him discipline. Out of the hundreds of horses on the McLaughlin ranch, Kennie chooses to raise a filly named Flicka. Flicka is fast, but wild and unreliable. Soon after Kennie begins to work with her, Flicka attempts to jump over the barbed wire fence which surrounds the property. She is badly injured, but Kennie isn’t discouraged. He and his mother try to nurse her back to health, but it becomes clear that Flicka is dying. The night before Rob intends to put her down, Kennie follows her out to a stream to let her die in peace. Remarkably, Flicka begins to get better, but Kennie falls ill. In the end, boy and horse embark on the road to recovery together.