Pete Karras, assigned to photograph the dangers and joys of hang gliding, becomes intrigued with the sport, as does his youngest son Endy, but they are unaware that son John has a deep fear of heights that compels him to perform a dangerous experiment to prove he can overcome it. Despite his deep-rooted fear, John goes along with Pete and Endy in taking flight instructions from a hang-gliding pilot. Unexpectedly, John likes the beginner's lessons. However, he doesn't realize that the advanced stages of the sport entail flying off 200-foot cliffs. Torn between his attraction to a young girl named Shelley, and her challenge to hang glide the cliffs, John feels he must either face up to or run away from, his acrophobia.