During a hiking trip with their parents in the mountains of California, cousins Owen, Vivian, and Amy are finally allowed to camp for one night at a little lake all on their own. But when a massive earthquake blocks their return path, there’s only one way home: the long way around, through a wilderness filled with fierce animals, raging rivers, unstable weather, and high passes.

However, the hardest challenges the cousins face are the troubles they’ve brought with them: bold Vivian’s fear of starting middle school (and of things she can’t control); Owen’s lingering emotional scars from a car accident, which have left him feeling like there’s a glass wall between him and the rest of the world; and Amy’s desire to live in fantastical stories rather than in boring regular life.

Drawing on courage and humor, the cousins must weather storms, make the most of dwindling rations, and face their deepest fears in order to bring each other safely home.