The Atlantic salmon is an extraordinary and mysterious fish. For centuries mankind has wondered how it is able to survive both in fresh and salt water and how it navigates thousands of miles to feeding grounds in the northern oceans before returning to the burns of its birth to reproduce.

Richard Shelton combines personal memoir and science to reveal the riverine and marine worlds from the salmon's point of view. He explores the salmon's life cycle and places the fish in its evolutionary context - one that is much closer to man's than we might imagine. Along the way, he describes the feat of exploration that gave us our first real understanding of the oceans, introduces the great Victorian naturalist Frank Buckland, and shows how this iconic fish is a vital indicator of the health of our rivers and oceans. Above all, To Sea and Back is the story of Richard Shelton's lifelong passion for the sea and his attempt to solve the perennial enigmas of the salmon's secret life.