Set against the backdrop of the biggest historical event in Alberta, the 1947 Leduc oil strike, Evalma and Wes struggle in the push-pull of a young marriage in peril, in winter, in a tarpaper shack in the woods, with a baby, and another dry well. Wes wants a gusher, Evalma wants a garden, and Tricky wants a girl like Evalma. While the men work all day and all night, Evalma meets a lady trapper in the woods, Nohkum, who shows her the power of the river in the difficult landscape of marriage.
