Maisie doesn't understand why her mother can't love her, but she knows that her life is hard, and deeply unhappy. When the only person she trusts, her stepfather George, leaves, Maisie has no protector, until she begins to escape into her own imagination. She first meets Hamilton as a lonely seven year old, but he has to remain a secret, for what would people think if she reveals her only friend is an imaginary horse? A childhood of neglect leaves her naive and insecure - and people will always prey on the innocent. But Hamilton lives on in her mind, and perhaps he will be the one to save her...