Patrick Toner recounts the life of Canadian poet Alden Nowlan, from his birth to a 14-year-old mother in 1933, through his impoverished childhood and troubled teen years, into his career as a newspaperman, struggle with cancer and tenure at the University of New Brunswick. Nowlan authored 12 books of poetry, two novels, a book of stories and 15 years of weekly columns. Despite this, and his winning the Governor General's Award in 1967, he continually fictionalized his life while hiding his background from those closest to him.