Emily Dickenson has a new horse to ride, the winter circuit to look forward to and all her horses are in top shape. She’s made up with Hanna, Jess is mostly leaving her alone and her relationship with Jordan is just where she likes it, friends with perhaps a hint of something more. Nothing can spoil the end of the summer heat and the start of fall. At least that is what Emily thinks.
But when an uncle she never knew she had turns up on their doorstep with his two grubby kids in tow and expects to move in with them, things take a downward spiral. The uncle has just been released from a stint in prison, the kids recently rescued from foster homes and now they are about to take over Emily’s house, her farm and her life. So much for quiet training time.
And Hanna has a new stallion to ride, the horse that Esther promised her after she gave the ride on Felix to Emily. The stallion is a handful but at least he is fast and all Emily can seem to do is get her horse around clean but never within the time allowed. Is she destined to pick up time faults for the whole time she rides Royal Blood or can she somehow find the key to his secret fourth gear. And can she manage to keep her sanity with two rug rats taking over her barn or will she have to try and find a way to get rid of them before she loses her mind?