Twelve-and-a-half year old Emelyn Ethrige lives with her father in South Carolina, dreams of wheelchair motocross, and makes custom chair bags trying to earn enough money to buy a serious set of wheels. She has been in a wheelchair all her life, and is just fine getting around without help, but it seems that since her mother was killed in an accident everyone have started treating her differently: urging caution and trying to "help" and for an independently-minded girl who loves speed and big air tricks it is frustrating--so Emelyn and her best friends come up with a plan to change their minds.