After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the "bird kids," who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose.

Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride knows what it's like to soar above the world. She and all the members of her 'flock' - Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel - are just like ordinary kids, except they have wings and can fly! It may seem like a dream come true to some, but for the flock it's more like a living nightmare when the mysterious lab known as the 'School' turns up and kidnaps their youngest member.