Emily Beale, sixteen years old, faces her first major flight as a student pilot. The dramatic moment of the "first solo" isn't what defines a young pilot. It's the four-hour, solo, "cross-country" challenge that determines who they can become.

As Emily flies around Washington's Olympic Mountains and along the Oregon Coast, she discovers that her future just might be on a clearer flight path than she thought possible. If she's ready for it.