Blackthorn Farm

Rupert Dale sits at his writing‑table in a sun‑lit London flat, the weight of three failed exams and mounting debts pressing down on him. With his father's modest cheque in hand and a promise to his beloved Ruby Strode, he places a desperate wager on a horse he has never seen, hoping the race will turn ruin into redemption. The day’s outcome will decide whether he can keep his dream of becoming a mining engineer—and protect the fragile future of his family back at Blackthorn Farm.

The story follows Rupert’s tightrope walk between ambition, love, and duty, as the specter of his struggling farm and his sister’s well‑being loom large. As the race approaches, his thoughts drift to the moorland homestead that shaped his upbringing, the pride of his father, and the promise of a life together with Ruby. Listeners will be drawn into his frantic race against time, feeling every heartbeat of hope and fear as the first act unfolds.