13-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when a single engine plane in which he is flying crashes. Suddenly, Brian finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother has given him as a present - and the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart ever since his parents' divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self-pity or despair - it will take all his know-how and determination, and more courage than he knew he possessed, to survive.
