Thirteen-year-old Kati Newman is sent to live with her godparents (whom she hasn't seen since she was a baby) while her parents try and work out their own relationship. At first she is an unhappy guest of godfather Alfred Bean (a veterinarian) and his wife Rachel, at their home deep in the Alabama countryside of Cove Lake.
As Kati struggles for happiness and self-acceptance, she finds mystery, drama, adventure, and even a little romance.

Her adventures begin the day she arrives, when she helps Alfred with a canine Caesarian section. She befriends Alex Parker, deaf from a water-skiing accident, whose mother, Cynthia, is overprotective as well as lonely.

Her summer gets more complicated when she meets a half-Comanche agriculture pilot, "Mad Jack," who enlists her help in renovating a World War II-era Stearman bi-plane. Then she finds herself falling for who she believes is "the perfect guy," the charming Skip Emmett.

Kati takes on the role of mediator with Cynthia and Alex, and discovers she can make a difference somewhere in the world. Ultimately, she comes to terms with herself, her parents, her new and often confusing feelings for the opposite sex, and her newfound love of flying...in what is suddenly a too-brief summer.