In Ann Arbor, Michigan, 15-year-old David Rice gives his crush, Millie Harris, a snow globe. A bully, Mark Kobold, throws the globe onto the ice near a river. While trying to retrieve it, David falls through the ice and is pulled away by the current. He suddenly finds himself in the local library and discovers he can teleport or "jump" from one place and instantly appearing in another. Unhappy with his life, he runs away and is believed dead by his alcoholic father.
