Wesley Ayers has had problems with his unfaithful wife. He feels that being a factory foreman was was never among his aspirations, but it paid the bills and allowed him to save. He realizes all of the demons that have plagued him in civilization and decides to finally follow his muse and become an artist, in a place where society can't restrict him. He retires early, at 55 years of age, and escapes Pennsylvania for a wilderness cabin in Alaska. It's 1947 and Alaska isn't even a state, yet. The wilderness is truly wild. He's hundreds of miles from the nearest road. At first, all is well. There's the midnight sun, dangerous animals, survival, life-threatening weather and solitude, but he expected all of that. Then, the unexpected begins to happen. Eskimos, the police, bush pilots, sex, ghosts and the law all invade his expected privacy. In the modern world, even in 1947, how much escape is there? It's in the book.