When Philippa Forrester and her partner, wildlife photographer Charlie Hamilton James, decide to get out of the rat race and set up home in an old mill-worker's cottage on a river in the heart of Gloucestershire, they get considerably more than they bargained for. Populated by otters, kingfishers and water fowl, the river is teeming with life and the young couple soon fall in love with it. But it is the otters that really capture the couple's imagination and they soon become absorbed in researching and filming this timid and endangered species. THE RIVER is the utterly captivating and personal story of their attempts to get a commission for and make a film about the families of otters, while at the same time having a baby, moving house and pursuing their careers. Written with endless charm and real affection, featuring a cast of memorable characters, THE RIVER is packed with hilarious stories spanning floods, chicken-keeping and wildlife-watching. The result is a sheer delight, a book which will be loved by fans of the countryside - and anyone who is dreaming of a better life away from it all.