When Amy discovers that a horse named Spartan is being abused, she convinces her mother to rescue the horse and bring him back to Heartland. On the way home a raging storm sends their truck and horse trailer careening off the side of the road, killing her mother. Grandpa Jack helps Amy find the strength to stop blaming herself and begin the process of healing Spartan, and healing her own heart.

An unknowing Ashley rides Swallow and is violently thrown off when the horse is spooked by a truck. Mrs. Roach swears she'll never bring her business back to Heartland. And when Spartan refuses to enter his trailer, Amy begins to have serious doubts about her ability to carry on her mother's work. But things start to look up when famous horseman Nick Harwell shows up at Heartland seeking Amy's help with Star, his prize-winning horse.

Amy is totally against holding an open house at Heartland, since she's managed to drum up some high profile clients on her own. Clients like Lisa Stillman, a well-known horse breeder who entrusts Amy with Promise, a valuable horse who refuses to be saddled. But there's no way Lou can cancel, especially since she's secretly invited their father, Tim, to see Amy for the first time in ten years.

Horse breeder Lisa Stillman is so impressed with Amy's work, she sends her nephew, Ben, to live at Heartland. Amy and Mallory can't believe the way he treats his horse, Red. After Red runs away from Heartland, the girls go searching for him. They find the horse near the edge of a river, but when Amy tries to lead Red across, his fear of water sends him into a panic, knocking Amy unconscious.

Lou charges ahead with the video to advertise Heartland, despite the fact nobody is supportive of the idea. After Lou's "big city" director drops out and shooting begins, it's clear the real director is Lou. But her take-charge attitude drives everyone over the edge. The last straw is when Lou insists they shoot Amy gentling a wild pony. The camera spooks the horse and Lou is nearly trampled to death.

When Lou's boyfriend arrives at Heartland the question on everyone's mind is, how long is he staying? Carl has been offered a lucrative position at a firm in Chicago and he's come to Heartland to convince Lou to go with him. Everything seems to fall into place when Lou is offered a job at the same Chicago firm. Meanwhile, Amy and Mallory have discovered Scott is secretly in love with Lou and it turns out all is not right with Lou's job offer.