Silverton Burning tells the story of Jimmy Bluebird, a part-Indian environmental activist and arsonist hiding from federal authorities in a small mountain town in Southwestern Colorado. Readers are introduced to the history of the area plus a colorful cast of Silverton characters headlined by the San Juan County Sheriff, Marge Winterbottom. The book examines man's relationship with nature and shows what happens when the interests of saving historical structures, deep ecology and big business collide in an atmosphere of political corruption.