Jayden Blue's cats, Hex and Halo, have found a new game to play every morning before school: hide and seek. Sometimes, Jayden's best friend, Raylene Hawkins, who lives right next door, helps Jayden find them, and she always waits on his porch with him for the school bus. They still can't look in the direction of the World So Close, and they can't even talk about it. Raylene suggests that they call it "where the crow flies" because the crow's flight showed Jayden that something just wasn't right. In school, Jayden is facing the prospect of having to run a race on Friday. Morton, who's a very good runner, has decided that taunting Jayden is a good idea, and he might be hoping to impress Raylene. Can Jayden learn to enjoy running? Can he possibly even win the race? The secret awaits him in the world that he and Raylene, along with Hex and Halo, continue to explore. There, the crow has an important message for him, and Jayden understands the call of the crow's wings. Running, for him, is never the same.