Fifteen-year-old Charley Thompson wants a home; food on the table; a school he can attend for more than a few months; and some structure to his life. But he's been pretty much on his own for some time. Charley takes a stables job, illegally, at the local race track. The track is a haven for washed up jockeys and knackered horses, but it's there that Charley meets Pete, an old horse who becomes his companion as he's forced to try to make his own way in the world.

Willy Vlautin is the author of five novels, including The Motel Life; Lean on Pete, which was shortlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and made into an acclaimed film by Andrew Haigh; and Don't Skip Out on Me, a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Vlautin lives outside of Portland, Oregon, and is the founding member of the bands Richmond Fontaine and The Delines.