When a deadly plague reaches the small fishing camp where he lives, an orphan named Leif is forced to take to the water in a cedar canoe. He flees northward, following a wild, fjord-riven shore, thrown from one danger to the next, unsure of his destination. Yet in this final novel for readers 9 to 12 by the author of the Newberry Honor books Hatchet and Dogsong, the deeper into his journey he paddles, the closer Leif comes to his truest self as he connects to the heartbeat of the ocean.

"What a gem…. This accessible, captivating adventure story is destined to become another Paulsen classic."—School Library Journal (starred review)