A young Park Service botanist accepts a temporary position with the Bison hotshots, one of the most rugged crews of wildland firefighters in the country. At first excited by the challenge, he soon discovers that his easy suburban upbringing has left him unprepared for the task. Unable to keep up with the exhausting day-to-day demands of hotshot life, he is quickly scorned and humiliated-and when the fire takes on an unexpected fury, his weakness of mind and body leave him separated from the crew and trapped inside one of the worst forest fires in Pacific Northwest history. Horrifically injured and almost helpless, he meets a dangerous companion who offers aid, but ultimately he must earn his own salvation by learning life's most difficult and empowering lesson.