"Remember that scent, Ahmek " his mother had said. "For that is the scent of human." She said it so gravely that he knew that it was one of the Greater Lessons, a greater lesson than stripping bark from twigs, a greater lesson than squeezing water from your fur, a lesson as great as holding your breath, as great as... diving.

This is the story of Ahmek, a young beaver living in his natural habitat. Through his eyes, we see a man, an artist painting the wilderness. Slowly, cautiously, Ahmek and the man establish a rapport, only to have it shattered when poachers destroy the beaver dam and threaten Ahmek's life.

In a desperate escape, Ahmek sets out alone on his life's great adventure. He meets a charming cast of characters, his true love, and he finds happiness. But there is always that feeling that one day he should return. When he does, he becomes part of a significant mystery that to this day has never been solved.

Set in Algonquin Park in 1917, the story follows the fortunes of a young beaver as he is forced out of his family lodge by poachers, goes on his "wander year" to find his own territory, finds a mate, builds a dam and lodge, and starts a family. Woven into the natural cycle of the beaver's life are encounters with humans, good and bad. Painter Tom Thomson and several members of the Group of Seven show how environmentally friendly humans behave in the wilderness while some poachers show how others exploit it.