While traveling with his father, a young boy named Alec Ramsey becomes fascinated by a mysterious Arabian stallion that is brought on board the ship on which he is sailing. When the ship tragically sinks, Alec and the stallion are the sole survivors, and he is left stranded on a deserted island. Alec befriends the horse--his only companion on the shipwrecked island. When finally both the boy and the horse return to the Alec's home, they soon meet Henry Dailey, a once successful trainer. Together they begin training the Black Stallion to race against the world's fastest horses.