This is the story of one Mormon woman's quest for solace, without and within, as a bird sanctuary near her home is flooded by the rising waters of the Great Salt Lake and as her mother contends with cancer caused by the atomic tests conducted in Utah in the 1950s.

"Remarkable....Her demonstration of how deeply human emotional life can become intertwined with a particular landscape could not be more relevant to our lives."
--Barry Lopez

"Profoundly moving...one of the most significant environmental essays of our time."
--Kansas City Star