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It is said of Johnsingh that he lives to work. In this book, he goes on several walks across the rugged and enchanting Western Ghats, detailing the presence and absence of the flora and fauna. Tiger pugmarks, tahr pellets, leopard scrapes, here tracks, sloth bear droppings, otter spoor, porcupine remains in leopard scat, scent of tiger spray, alarm calls of the wild, intrusion of non-endemic flora - nothing misses Johnsingh as he straddles the length and breadth of the Western Ghats.

The walks are never without risks: he bumps into a tigress and her cubs, has a narrow escape from a chasing elephant and wakes up one morning to see a sloth bear barely 50 m from his rock bed! But Johnsingh manages to lighten these situations with graceful wit. Along each step, he picks up issues that have ravaged the habital and provides useful suggestions to save it from further onslaught in the name of development. He packs his narration with fun, adventure and sincerity, making it very thought-provoking.