A former convict makes his way back to his hometown in rural Ontario, where he cleverly thwarts the plans of a rich and unscrupulous thoroughbred owner intent on seizing numerous local farms. Ray Dokes, once a charismatic baseball player, emerges from prison to find that the countryside he remembers has been altered by urban expansion. Intent on avoiding any further legal issues, Ray visits the farm of his longtime friend Pete Culpepper, a grizzled cowboy from Texas who is struggling with mounting debts and a stable of underperforming racehorses.