Aries is an unusual little bear. Her great, great, great grandfather was a polar bear and she has inherited white ears and white paws that mark her out as unusual among the other brown bears. The first chapter has her mother, Gentle, waking her from hibernation and introducing her to the world for her first full summer.Aries and her mother set off in search of food, and in the process meet Gentle's sister, Ethyl and her two male cubs, Bru and Bor. This is their second summer and they are a real handful to look after, always getting up to mischief.The two families set off together to the Big River and its famous Antler Falls for the annual Salmon run. Gentle needs to teach Aries many things to help her survive, one of them being how to catch salmon. But things go badly wrong when Aries reaches too far to catch a big fish and falls into the turbulent waters. She is swept away by the currents to the edge of the falls and certain death, when miraculously she lands in the arms of a huge bear called Tagger and is saved.