The author sets off aboard a small boat called Nikawa (river-horse in Osage) from the Atlantic at New York harbour in hopes of entering the Pacific near Astoria, Oregon. He and his companion, Pilotis, struggle to cover 5000 watery miles often following in the wakes of the great explorers from, Henry Hudson to Lewis and Clark. En route, the voyagers confront massive floods, submerged rocks, dangerous weather and their own doubts about whether they can complete the trip. But the hard days yield up incomparable pleasures: strangers generous with help and eccentric tales; landscapes unchanged since Sacagawea saw them; riverscapes flowing with a lively past; and the growing belief that efforts to protect the land and waters are beginning to pay off. Throughout its course, the expedition enjoys coincidences such as to suggest the intervention of a divine and witty providence. The author offers an unsentimental portrait of America at the edge of the millennium.