It is the fifth and final book in the award-winning Hatchet series, which deals with Brian Robeson, a boy who learns wilderness survival when he is stranded after a plane wreck.

He realizes that the woods are now his home and he will never be happy in modern society with its noise, pollution, and inauthentic people.

Though he has only seen her photograph, her family has described her as an adventurous, self-reliant young woman, and Brian wonders if she might be a kindred spirit.

While canoeing, Brian finds a severely injured Malamute dog, which he nurses back to health.

When Brian reaches their cabin, he finds that a bear has killed the parents and chased Susan into hiding.