Kate Witherspoon has lived a bohemian life with her artist parents. In 1917, the new art form ofthe motion picture is changing entertainmentand Kate is determined to become a director. Meanwhile, midwestern farm boy Julian Birch has inherited the wanderlust that fueled his parents adventures. A childhood bout with polio has left him crippled, but he refuses to let his disability define him. Strangers driven by a shared vision, Kate and Julian set out separately for Los Angeles, the city of dreams. There, they each struggle to find their independence. When they finally meet, the teenage runaways realize their true magicallegacy: the ability to triumph over death, and over time. But as their powerful parents before them learned, all magic comes with a price.