There had been warnings-the never-ending rain, the slowly rising water-yet when the river finally tears the old wooden house from its foundation and carries it on a perilous journey toward the sea, Albie is unprepared and alone. But he's not alone for long. Albie, even at his age, is no stranger to violence. On the frontier in the 1860s, survival comes first, and he had seen-and taken part in-brutal killings of wild animals and even of men believed to threaten his family's existence. Now, trapped by fate with the most dangerous of enemies-a mountain lion, an American ghost-Albie is forced to depend on trust, on understanding, on mutual support. Fear, hunger, and the slowly developing relationship between boy and cougar lead Albie to a new way of seeing himself and the world around him.