Czechoslovakia, October 1937. Vast crowds have gathered to watch the Grand Pardubice steeplechase, Europe"s most blood-curdling sporting test of manhood. With war looming, the race has a brutal political significance. The Nazis have sent the SS"s all-conquering paramilitary horsemen to crush - yet again - the "subhuman Slavs". But Lata Brandisova, a silver-haired countess on a little golden mare, has other ideas...