SUNNY AND THE DARK HORSE is the story of a family in northern New South Wales and their gradually evolving passion for picnic horse-racing. The Bancrofts could be seen as a quintessential^ Australian family: Sunny, an Aboriginal man, hi; non-Aboriginal wife, Liz. their two daughters, and Liz's mother, Tex. who lives with them on the cattle station where Sunny works as manager.

Events begin to gather momentum when Sunny buys a horse for his older daughter to ride. By chance he hears of a local picnic race meeting and decides to try out the horse. This leads to further race meetings, an attempt to find the fastest stockhorse on the station, and Sunny's growing determination to have a real racehorse — "one to win the cups with". Then one day he hears that a friend has a racehorse for sale . . .