The people of the Nechako region are not unfamiliar with hardship, environmental devastation and protecting what they hold dear. June Wood chronicles the history of the Nechako River and its region, covering the construction of the Kenney Dam, which changed forever the flow of the river and its tributaries; the controversial Kemano Completion Project, which threatened to doom the river further still; and the subsequent battles to protect the river and the communities affected by its altered flow. She also delves into the aftermath of the devastating mountain pine beetle epidemic that severely harmed the economy of the region.

An active participant in many of the fights to protect the Nechako River, Wood is one of the most qualified people to speak on behalf of the land she calls home. She passionately introduces a river whose once forceful flow has been weakened to a mere trickle and sympathetically relays the harsh realities of environmental ruin—both to the river and the forest through unnatural and natural causes—while weaving in her personal narrative of the land that holds her heart.