The engine of a light airplane sputters overhead and stops as Annie Johnston, 20, casts a fishing line on the North Fork a day before she begins her junior year at the University of Oregon. The life of this red-headed, freckled, strong-willed woman will change in ways she never suspects as she jogs upriver in search of the plane and discovers a man who was taking a joy ride the day before his wedding. As a person reared in a weekly newspaper office and dedicated to becoming an international freelance writer and photographer, Annie has guarded against romantic entanglements. That is until she meets Matt Curtiss, the pilot of the downed plane, and protects him from the cold by sleeping alongside him while awaiting rescue. Despite Annie's otherwise continued "hands-off" relationship with Matt, she can hardly avoid his insistence on helping her achieve a dream of learning to fly. Liz Warner, Annie's university roommate who may appear unschooled in the world outside her Eastern Oregon ranch life, not only takes a liking to this young pilot but also needs a bit of coaching to survive in the classroom. Meanwhile, Matt has some explaining to do to his fiancée Jennifer Jenkins after their wedding is postponed because of the accident on the North Fork.