The Scottish Borders, 1888. A poacher is shot dead on the Ballantyre estate, and stable hand James Douglas disappears, charged with the crime. 1893. Nineteen-year-old Evelyn Ballantyre is bored with her limited existence, and has formed a friendship that her father wishes to quash. Ordered to accompany him to Canada, on a trip down the Nipigon River, she is shocked to discover that their guide is James Douglas. Evelyn has never thought him guilty - and always wondered what her father had to hide. In this wild landscape, the secrets and lies surrounding that night are stripped away, with dramatic consequences ...