Plans for Jessie Scott's thirteenth birthday party are shattered when her parents make her leave her home in Montana's Great Bear Wilderness because of threatening forest fires. Jessie is furious. But she gets more than she bargained for when she, her mother, and her dog Oriole get caught in a wildfire and separated. Was it a careless camper or arson? As Jessie searches for her mother, Oriole, and answers about the fire, she discovers what is most important to her.