The story is about a girl called Pangma-la, who is named after a Shining Mountain. She lives with her mom and dad in Scotland. The other kids often tease Pangma-la, because of her name. . But her father tells her to be brave and never be ordinary.
Pangma-la’s father, who is a famous mountaineer, trains her to climb the mountain she was named after. Her father puts her through a lot of stuff to get ready, and Pangma is afraid of the pressure he puts on her.But Pangma-la promised her father to be extraordinary, so she pulls herself together and vows never to disappoint her father. When they arrive at the mountain, some Sherpa men offers to help them. Her father arrogantly turns them down, and they in return, tell them that a mountain goddess will probably stop them before they reach the top.
Ignoring the warning, they continue their journey. At first, Pangma-la feels fresh, and nothing is bothering her, but soon she starts to feel weary.Out of nowhere, a Sherpa woman appears, and offers to help carry Pangma-la’s backpack, but she refuses to be helped by the woman. The Sherpa woman appears again, and this time Pangma-la accepts her offer.
The fourth time, the Sherpa woman offers to take Pangma-la’s heavy heart. By accepting this, she turns Pangma-la into a swan. The Sherpa woman, who is actually a mountain goddess, confronts Pangma-la’s father. Her father learns the truth, and feels miserable because of it.He tries to take his own life, but the goddess won’t let him.
The goddess makes him realize, that the huge expectations he had for her, made Pangma-la unhappy, and unsure of herself. He starts to cry, regretting that he put so much pressure on her. When the mountain goddess feels that the father has learned his lesson, she turns Pangma-la back into a human. Pangma-la and her father reunite, and they run down to the bottom of the mountain, together again.
