When serious student and science buff Casey Carlyle (Michelle Trachtenberg) develops a computer program to analyze figure skaters and suggest improvements to their technique, something happens that she didn't predict: she also develops a keen interest in figure skating. Unfortunately for Casey, her mother, Joan Carlyle (Joan Cusack) is a feminist college professor, who sees no value in pursuits that don't bring them closer to their dream of Casey attending Harvard University. Casey devises a plan to approach other figure skaters and offer her advice to improve their skating, which she does to make enough money to cover lessons and ice time for herself. This allows her to keep her skating a secret from her mother. Casey quickly moves up the ranks of skaters with the help of her coach, Tina Harwood (Kim Cattrall) and Harwood's daughter, Gen (Hayden Panettiere). Casey earns the right to skate for a chance to enter the U. S. Championship circuit, but she soon finds out that her dreams of Harvard and her dreams of figure skating might not be compatible.