The animals of the Rocky Mountains discover a new kind of pale human is living among them. Unlike the humans they've been used to for centuries, this mountain man called John Colter traps for money rather than food. They conspire to capture him, but when he survives not only the water spirits of the Yellowstone region, but a hunting party of Piikani (Blackfoot) natives, the supernatural intervenes. Wishpoosh, an 8-foot albino beaver, confronts both Colter and the animals with visions of the future ecology of the land. This eco-fantasy draws parallels between the radical environmental change triggered during the early 19th century and the challenges of today.