In Hawaii, a baby humpback enters the world and joins the 3,000 or more whales that congregate in the warm waters off Hawaii each winter to mate and give birth. This is the story of her first year of life. Over twelve months she will learn many skills from her mother, and eventually they will make the several-thousand-mile journey together to Alaska's southeast coast. Though fiercely competitive during the breeding season in Hawaii, the whales cooperate in Alaska, working in teams to gather food in the most efficient way possible. She has one year to learn all the subtleties of whale society before she is left by her mother to continue her education on her own.