"An insightful commentary on the congenial inhabitants, both human and animal, which first lured the author to this magnificent land." –Booklist

Unlike Australia, which is geologically stable, New Zealand is young and impetuous—ready to rumble at any moment. Temperate and green as the jade its original Maori inhabitants dug from the land, the country's modern cities and prosperous farms coexist today with striking landforms and ancient beasts that are lifted, it seems, straight from the pages of Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World. It is New Zealand's natural history that attracts Edward Kanze, who, over the course of five years, made three eventful trips to these isolated islands in search of rare and elusive animals.

In this book, which takes the form of a diary, Kanze recounts his extensive experiences as he traveled throughout the islands, exploring and studying New Zealand's native flora and fauna, especially its relic species, and pursuing his own personal quest. At the end of his last trip, when the author holds a rare frog in his hands and gazes into its eyes, he understands something of the pattern that binds all of the Earth's creatures, past and present.