Kenneth McLaughlin is a 10-year-old boy living on Goose Bar Ranch, just out of Cheyenne, Wyoming, with his practical father, Rob; his mother, Nell; and his older brother, Howard.

Rob is often unsatisfied with Ken, who daydreams when he should be attending to practical matters; Nell, however, shares her son's sensitive nature and is more sympathetic.

All the Goose Bar horses with this strain have been fast and beautiful, but untameable, and after many years of trying to break them, Rob has decided to get rid of them all.

Flicka comes to love and trust the boy, but her wounds fester and cause a dangerous blood infection, still young Ken perseveres in his care of her.

Ken sneaks from the house and spends the night sitting on the bank of the stream, with his legs in the cold water, holding her head to prevent her from drowning.

By the end of the book, Ken has not only regained sufficient health to return to school he learns that his beloved horse is alive.