Maximum "Max" Ride and her little adoptive family of flying kids and a talking dog are back. Genetically engineered with wings that allow them to fly. For the longest time, they have only had each other as they have fought to escape the horrible people at the School that did testing on them.

Now that they have gotten past their most dangerous enemies from the school, including mutant attack-dog-kids, they have been reunited with Max's mom Dr. Rodriguez. Congress is looking to find a way to help them settle into a normal life at a special school where they can be kept safe.

Max and the gang have heard this all before and jump out a window (literally) and go on the run. This time they find themselves throwing themselves in with a group of environmental scientists looking to examine the effects of global warming. In the process, they find themselves in Antarctica.

Even being that far away from civilization does not keep them away from horrible people looking to use them for their genetic adaptations. The Uber-Director, basically a robot set up to house his intellect, is on the hunt to capture them in order to force them to serve his purposes.

The strong environmental message comes across a little preachy, even for those of us who support the ideas behind it. The message almost overpowers the plotlines. The story is filled with interesting new characters as well as the ones who have been in the series since the beginning.