The answer is yes—which is the problem. The deeper question, the question the story is actually about, is this: What will those things mean to her? What specific plan will they topple? What internal fear will they force her to confront? What long-held desire will they give her no choice but to go after? Because your novel isn’t about the external change your What If is going to put your protagonist through; it’s about why that change matters to her. There’s only one way to answer that question, and that is by digging deeper into the treasure trove where the heart of
