JT Maroney, 52, is river guide on the Colorado River and completed 125 tours during the course of his career. His latest tour group of twelve includes a couple in their 70’s, an obese teenager named Amy, a young family of four and history know-it-all Mitchell, who wants to upstage JT.

The author gives the reader a glimpse into the thoughts of JT and the group members.  Excerpts from Amy’s journal open selected chapters, and the narrative flashes back to the elderly couple's experiences on the rapids throughout their marriage.  Husband Lloyd is suffering from dementia and his wife Ruth decided to make this trip one last time.  JT’s history on the river provides knowledge of the Colorado River’s rapids and dangers.

Then there is history buff Mitchell, who paddled the same route as the 1869 historic expedition of John Wesley Powell except for the last stretch.  The group's tour covers the remaining portion of the historic route, and Mitchell plans to write a book about his experiences. Add to the mix a stray dog that the young family loves. Mitchell fears the stray, and Ruth is injured when one of the children lets the dog escape from a leash.  JT feels it is his responsibility to find a hiker or group to return the dog to civilization.

In addition to the dynamics of personal conflict, the hardships of camping and the thrills and threats of the rapids, there is an exhilaration of adventure. The narrative uses the landscape to convey mood changes. Some of the views are scary, “the oldest black rock you would ever see…where the rivers got serious..unforgiving, where the walls closed in before you could say goodbye to the sky…ghosts in the water and ghosts in the rock”. Havusu Creek is described as, “turquoise waters and tropical flowers… like…ancient botanical gardens of a long-gone culture”.  This novel will whet the appetite of the outdoor enthusiast and open the imagination of the armchair tourist.