That heat wave also lead to the destruction of the town of Lytton, British Columbia as the urban area and local ecosystem were ill-prepared for such extreme temperatures.

Throughout the book Goodell describes the deleterious effects of extreme heat, both on societies and the environment, as he travels to or reports about Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic Circle, Antarctica, the Great Barrier Reef, Chennai, India (which at the time was struggling with critical water shortages), the tropics, and various cities.

Goodell dedicates some of the book to discussing air conditioning and how this technology has allowed people to live in hotter climates but also has become a major contributor to global warming.

Goodell also details the death of Sebastian Perez, an undocumented worker who died during the 2021 Western North American heat wave as he was working in a field of shrubs during 107 °F (42 °C) temperatures.

"[3] Writing for The Guardian, Nina Lakhani commended Goodell for his incisive reporting, in which he detailed how racist policies or a lack of urgency in the United States disregarded the needs of many people of color such as migrants, farm workers, and other laborers.