This is the third book in the story of the Byrne family, Irish farmers whose lives were overturned in 'Greener Grass', then tested so severely in 'Wild Geese'. Kit's younger brother, Jack, is determined to make his mark in the rough-and-ready lumbering industry up the Ottawa river from late 1840s Bytown. The young boy, not yet a teenager but full of braggadocio, is sure that he can quickly learn to be a hard-muscled and brave rafts-man. But as the story opens, we find Jack lying on a rocky floor in the deep forest, sore and bruised - and in fact totally unaware of who and where he is. Throughout the story Jack gradually pieces together dreams, vague clues and reminders that tell him of his history - in the course of which comes to grips with mistakes he has made.