Dad takes an unplanned detour during a family vacation to Winnipeg He is lured by the Canadian lakes he fished as a young boy with his stepfather Cal and Uncle Joe The rediscovery renews a dogged pursuit of the rare and elusive freshwater monster the muskie With single minded fixation three generations of Hawkins men and an assortment of neighborhood kids escape from civilization to focus annual fishing adventures on capturing a world record muskie Motivated by the enthusiasm of his young sons Z and Buck Hawkins embarks on fishing expeditions to Big Bluff the special lake of his youth Grandpa Cal is invited to join the party and remains the grumpy skeptic based on past fishing experiences You knuckleheads couldn t land a big one if it jumped in your pants But for Hawkins and eldest son Z no storm is too fierce no forest too mosquito infested and no boat motor too undependable to derail their dream Comical predicaments and sometimes dangerous circumstances pepper the long hours and special moments the men share fishing on the intricate system of beautiful lakes that connect to Big Bluff Early morning trips to the camp outhouse and greasy dirty dish producing breakfasts prepared by Grandpa Cal fuel many extended days on the sacred water Beyond fantastic speculations of giant fish and murderers descriptions of fishing reel the reader into the ebb and flow of each day s adventures Roscoe the boisterous quirky camp owner and muskie mentor Jasper are just two of the colorful characters who inhabit the wilderness setting where the Hawkins men establish their tradition Through a dense haze of evening mosquitoes and whisky breath Roscoe tantalizes the boys with tales of ji uhnd muskies as big as his laig Roscoe reveals treasured secrid directions to a hidden muskie promise land that will require navigating cluttered creeks pushing heavy boats over multiple beaver dams and a boatless portage through the forest Years pass and normal