The narrative fluctuates between third person omniscient and third person limited, with Jack's interior life given the most space. The prose both enhances the contemplative air of their trip and underscores the river's isolation. By starting the novel so removed from the protagonists, Heller makes them seem especially vulnerable to the elements. Initially, the third person point-of-view focuses on Jack and Wynn's surroundings, the vast Canadian wilderness pages of description occur before either character is named. Heller's narration shifts in intensity, one moment supremely focused on his characters, the next at a distance from them. What starts off as a fun-filled retreat into nature becomes a race against time that pits them against the very river they meant to savor. Even worse, while paddling through the fog, they overhear a heated argument between a husband and wife camped on the riverside, only to find a man paddling alone the next day.

Despite their strong wilderness skills, their adventure is put to the test when they discover a massive forest fire threatens to overtake them. They've agreed to take a semester off from school in order to maximize time on the river, and for the most authentic adventure possible, they do not bring a satellite phone. Jack and Wynn are college friends on a canoeing trip down the Maskwa River in Northern Canada.

A significant number of the visitors don’t fish, but for what reason would they have a bandage on their hands following a spa day? While they are fishing and a shout is heard in the middle of the night, both Jack and Allison are dubious that something different is going on at the hotel and at the adjoining property.Introspective and emotionally-resonant, Peter Heller takes readers through a struggle for physical survival that shifts into a meditation on morality. Jack and Allison rapidly form a bond while fishing and soon after share their doubts that things are not as they appear. Jack is allocated to direct Allison K., a notable singer, for seven days of fishing. Once at the hotel, he realizes there are an abundance of rules, that the limits of where visitors are permitted to fish is strict, with one end monitored by an insane elderly person with a gun and the other by a pack of gatekeeper dogs, and he sees cameras all over. The hotel is for the privileged where visitors pay a high premium to fish along the immaculate river nicknamed “Billionaire’s Mile.” Jack’s expectation is that directing visitors in tracking down the best trout fishing possible will assist him with recover from awful events in his past. Jack chooses to put a hold on from working on his dad’s farm and accepts a short term seasonal work as a fishing guide at Kingfisher Lodge in Colorado.

The river by peter heller summary