Around the first day of Royal Ascot, the crowd rejoices inside a string of winning favourites. Ned Talbot spent some time working all his life as a bookmaker – taking over the family business from his grandfather – therefore he knows never to expect any sympathy from the punters because they count their earnings, and he counts his losses. He’s noticed the ups and downs before – but, as the big gambling conglomerates muscle in on little worries like his, Ned miracles if it’s worth it any more.

When a grey-haired guy steps forward through the crowd claiming to become his father, Ned’s life is certainly thrown into significantly deeper turmoil. He’d been told since he was a baby that his parents had died in an automobile crash.

Barely one hour later his newly found father is stabbed by an unknown assailant in the Ascot carpark. Blood oozing from his stomach, he warns Ned: ‘Be very cautious’. But of whom? Of what? Ned discovers himself in a race to resolve his father’s riddles, a competition where coming second could cost him a lot more than also money, it might cost him his lifestyle.