A survival story that is a must-read. Main character Brian is on his way to Canada to visit his alienated father when the pilot of his two-person plane suffers a heart attack. Brian is forced to crash-land the plane in a lake - and finds himself stranded in the remote Canadian wilderness with only his clothing and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present before his departure. Exhausted, terrified, and hungry, Brian struggles to find food and make a shelter for himself. He has no special knowledge of the woods, and he must find a new kind of awareness and patience as he meets each day's challenges. Is the water safe to drink? Are the berries he finds poisonous? Slowly, Brian learns to turn misfortune to his advantage - an invading porcupine unexpectedly shows him how to make fire, a devastating tornado shows him how to retrieve supplies from the submerged airplane. A story of survival, this breathtaking book sparks most readers to take on the impossible.