Isn't summer vacation supposed to bring fun and adventure? For Danielle, turning thirteen in three short weeks, this summer would be the last summer of childhood as all things adult loomed with both excited and anxious anticipation. Danielle loves her family, their ranch nestled at the Eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains and her special friends, a dog named Shadow and a horse named Jessie and, of course, a chubby ginger cat with white paws named Rico. Her plans for a quiet, relaxing beginning to summer vacation change when her pesky fourteen year old cousin, Justin, goes missing and the three friends embark on a risky adventure in the wilderness to find him, leaving Rico behind to distract Danielle's parents.

Filled with doubt, Danielle wonders if she's been foolish to think that she could be a hero and rescue anyone, that she could 'save the day', that she could even stay on a horse she'd only just learned to ride. Along the way, she finds more than just her cousin. She discovers that her wheelchair no longer defines or confines her and that relying on friends when you think you're at your lowest point is the only way to fly. Through a two day journey into unknown terrain, both physical and mental, she learns the power of leaps of faith, true listening and that not everyone is what they seem.