Sam Gribley has been told that it is illegal to harbor an endangered bird, so when his beloved falcon, Frightful, comes home he has to let her go. But Frightful doesn't know how to live alone in the wild. She can't feed herself, mate, brood chicks or migrate. Frightful struggles to survive and learns to enjoy her new freedom. But she feels a bond with Sam that can never be broken, and more than anything else, she wants to return to him.

Sequel to My Side of the Mountain and On the Far Side of the Mountain.