Recounts the experiences of the author while she was a national park ranger in locations across the United States.

This is your brain on the Grand Canyon -- Plover patrol -- Faint at heart -- As Yosemite falls -- Our first summers in the Sierra -- Dead bear walking -- The ranger olympics -- A girl in boys town -- The partner -- The tell-tale backpack -- Mary, the split-tail clerk-typist -- Gateway to the underworld -- Scorpion karma -- Predator-prey relationships -- Cruel world -- Crash -- A cold wet one -- Dry heat -- The Devil's corkscrew -- Friday the thirteenth -- The gut of darkness -- Thunder and lightning -- Pine pigs -- Dangerous types -- Thanksgiving Ledge -- Stuck in the fee booth -- What's so wonderful about Wonder Lake? -- Separation Canyon -- Place of emergence -- On the mountain -- The ranger's burden -- The last call -- Epilogue.