Ellie looks up through the dome of her crumpled rock crawler at gathering clouds, her hands beginning to ache from clutching the controls. Jake sits alone on a mountain feeling the wind on his face and letting grief wash through him. Ellie, Jake, Titu, Jacob, Ada and Valerie each face defining moments of pain, triumph, and love. Young people on a new world struggle to form their character and destiny as their world changes in ways they didn't predict and might not survive.