John Greystone is a twenty year old who lands a summer job as a wildfire spotter in Sequoia National Park. A helicopter pilot drops him off on a remote mountain top with a promise to return an hour later with supplies. The next day the pilot has not returned and John is out of water. He's often wondered if he could survive in the wild like his Cherokee ancestors or had the wild heart been bred out of him? His ordeal becomes a journey of self discovery. Oh yeah, he also has plenty time to think about a young woman named Stephanie who seems to be the only one that notices he's missing.