Football star Harry Charles begins college life yearning for acceptance that his small town can't give him. When his father commits suicide, he is thrust into wealth and perceived social prominence, as well as into a chronic depression-an illness little understood in 1917. Harry's charismatic new roommate, Simon, exposes him to gambling, drinking and the seductive world of horse racing at Saratoga Race Course. Harry's addiction to winning at all costs fuels his participation in a rigged horse race, an orchestrated sinking of a valuable car, and the fixed World Series of 1919. Will alcohol and gambling permanently rob Harry of the love of his life, his sanity, his money, and the happy life he may have led? Or will he be given a last chance to become the person he has always been? In this fast-paced perilous race through life, beating the odds of addiction may make Harry a hopeless longshot that will never win.