Conservationist and naturalist Sir John Lister-Kaye, founder of the Aigas Field Centre writes about his life in the glens, the wildlife that surrounds him and the primeval magical exchange that takes place between man and nature once so central to ancient civilisations. He describes finding the ruined 19th-century estate that is to become Aigas and taking it over and turning it into a going concern as a field centre, and his own personal motivation, following the Torrey Canyon oil spillage and natural disasters in the 1960s, to become a conservationist. Interspersed within the narrative detail are engaging and enlightening descriptions of flora and fauna. John Lister-Kaye carries the reader into the minute worlds he observes and backs up keen scrutiny with facts and figures.