Seventeen-year-old Elle has learned that her birth mother lives in Seattle. Elle loves her family in Kansas, although they can be kind of weird. But, she has always wondered about the woman that brought her into the world and then gave her away. Why? What about Elle was so abhorrent that the woman put her up for adoption? Elle decides to do something that is completely out of character for her. With the help of her sister, Dolly, and the next door neighbor, she sneaks out of the house and starts the long trip to Seattle. She plans on returning (assuming her parents don't un-adopt her), so it's not really running away. Is it? What will she encounter on their trip? Killer deer? Runny yogurt? Two-legged predators? A three-year-old girl too cute for words? Pork rinds? (Don't knock them, they can be addictive). Most importantly, what will she learn about herself on the adventurous quest? Then there's that dorky guy she meets in Nebraska...