The Center for Disease Control estimates that 15 million children are predisposed to asthma. Rates of acute asthmatic attacks have more than doubled in the past decade. At highest risk are poor children of color living in inner cities. But even in rural areas, asthma is rising as children are exposed to farm chemicals. This informative film seeks to explore all aspects of this debilitating illness. It includes the personal stories of children and their parents who have to cope with the daily threat of an asthma attack. We hear from leading scientists who are trying to understand this new epidemic and develop preventive measures. The irritants that cause asthma are manifold-mold, fungus, pesticides, air pollution from moving vehicles, to name but a few. These are all products of our technological society and, interestingly, children in under developed countries have a much lower rate of asthmatic-like reactions. We go into the classroom of Veronica Lightfoot, who teaches her young charges to carry their medicine and to be aware of how their lungs work. We learn how parents can cooperate by identifying toxic sites in their neighborhood. Most importantly, we gain an understanding of the environmental factors that have changed the health of our children over the past 25 years.