An astonishingly raw and beautiful verse novel about survival, love and the bonds between humans and animals from an important young Australian poet Sam, a teenager, lives on a farm with his mother and emotionally distant father, a horse trainer. Haunted by trauma and depression, struggling with school and disillusioned with his home life following the death of his older brother, Sam's life changes when he finds a wounded foal tangled in barbed wire in one of the paddocks at the edge of their property.

In the course of rescuing and caring for the foal he becomes close with Julia, a troubled girl from the next property. The Foal in the Wire is the deeply moving and inspiring story of Sam, his love for a girl and the horse that brings them together.