Ashling has broken her bones one hundred times. She was born with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a rare bone disorder, which makes her bones very fragile and brittle. Because of her condition, Ashling is in chronic pain and is often hospitalized.
Sixteen-year-old Ashling witnesses her eight-year-old sister, Skylar, fall and break her leg during ski practice. For the first time, Skylar experiences what Ashling goes through on a regular basis. Ashling helps Skylar deal with her pain the same way she usually does: by using her dream machine, a machine that conjures up stories of imaginary worlds to distract her from pain.