Fresh Horses

Matt Larkin, a University of Cincinnati senior, enjoys a picture-perfect life: good grades, a well-to-do family, and an engagement to Alice. After class, his friends Tipton and Sproles tell him about a wild night out at a countryside house owned by a woman named Jean and invite him to join them. With his upcoming marriage on his mind, Matt decides to check out the offer.

The group drives to Jean's countryside house expecting a party, but they only find the aftermath from the previous night. In the kitchen, Matt grabs a beer and meets Jewel, a neighbor escaping her abusive stepfather, and he is instantly drawn to her. He returns to the countryside to spend more time with Jewel, starting a romantic connection.

Matt and Jewel's bond deepens, and he ultimately breaks off his engagement to Alice. They begin spending more time together away from the expectations of their peers, fueling the romance. The relationship becomes the central focus of Matt's life.

Tipton informs Matt that Jewel is married and sixteen years old. Jewel initially denies being underage but admits she is married to escape her stepfather. She also reveals that her husband, Green, is abusive and that she never consummated the marriage.

Matt asks Tipton for help in getting an annulment for Jewel and ends up in a heated argument with Tipton. Meanwhile, Matt is kicked out of his parents' house after his father discovers him and Jewel sneaking around, so he moves into a run-down shack where the lovers continue to meet.

Tipton and Sproles meet Matt at a diner and insinuate that Jewel has manipulated him, pushing him toward doubt about her. He ends up moving back into his parents' house and even leaves money for Jewel to use toward her annulment.

Jewel barges into a gathering at the shack and asks to borrow Matt's car so she can meet Green. His friends urge him to leave with them, but Matt refuses and waits for Jewel to return. When she doesn't come back, he goes to Jean's house to learn that Jewel is at her mother's place.

Matt meets Jewel to learn what happened the previous night. She says she met Green at a bar, tried to make him sign the annulment papers, and was assaulted in the back of Matt's car. She then says she saw Sproles, who she claims was one of her attackers, while Sproles insists he was a bystander and that his brother could have stopped abuse if it happened.

Matt confronts Green at his house, but Jewel interrupts and throws the annulment papers at Green, breaking off their relationship. The explosive truth about abuse leaves Matt and Jewel distant from each other, and Matt's trust is worn thin.

A year passes as Matt returns home from graduate school for Christmas. He runs into Jewel at an ice-skating rink and learns she is divorced from Green, is back in high school, has quit smoking, and is dating a classmate named Steven. They part with Matt's tearful farewell as he watches her leave with mixed emotions.