While on a mission to Antarctica to save the world from global warming, fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride and the other members of the Flock-- a band of genetically modified children who can fly-- are pursued by their creator, the Uber-Director, who wants to auction them off to the highest bidder.

New York City has become almost uninhabitable when continuous sunlight causes unbearable heat, rationing of water and electricity, and swarms of people leaving, looking for cooler weather further north.