Racing at Virginia's beautiful Colonial Downs twists into a nightmare for jockey Nicky Latrelle. A sociopath sells diet cocktails - killing jockeys who struggle to make racing weight. Alarming events greet Nicky and exercise rider Lorna Doone upon their arrival at Colonial - strange noises echo in the nighttime woods, a man with haunted eyes drags a dirt-smeared shovel from the forest, and the body of a burn victim lies on the road outside the track...