When heavy November rains threaten to flood the small town of Black
River, New Brunswick, the community calls on the hydroelectric company
to open the gates of its dam and drop the water level. But local
management has been overruled by their parent company and ordered to
keep it closed. It's got some people hinting it's time they took things
into their own hands.
Seventeen-year-old Stanton Frame is caught in between: his father is
manager at the dam, but his girlfriend, Jessica, has joined an
environmental group that's taken an interest in the matter. With just
hours until the town floods, things come to a violent clash between
police and protesters. The next morning the dam has been sabotaged,
Jessica is missing, and Stanton has more questions than answers.
Suspenseful and authentic, with a fine ear for the nuances of local
politics and teenage sensibilities, celebrated YA author Robert Rayner's
new novel combines activism, love, and mystery.