Shedding light on the misuse of science, this investigation presents an innovative form of environmental writing as one biologist searches for a solution that will save many fish species from life-threatening dams. His adventure takes him from a fisheries patrol boat on the Fraser River to the great Tsukiji fish market in Japan--with stops in the Philippines, Thailand, and assorted South American countries--and his quest finally culminates in the arid outback of northeast Brazil. Along the way, the author encounters many memorable characters, including a six-foot endangered catfish, a Canadian professor with a weakness for Thai bar girls, a chain-smoking Brazilian, and a drug-addled stick-up artist. This account portrays fishermen, fish farmers, and even fish cops in a new light, as well as scientists, shysters, and some very drunk, very hairy Brazilian men in thongs.