The River

The River is a 2019 novel by Peter Heller that tells the story of two college friends, Jack and Wynn, who take a canoe expedition in the remote Northern Canadian wilderness. What begins as an idyllic journey soon turns ominous when a nearby forest fire threatens the young men’s safety and survival. The fire is only one of many threats; the two inadvertently encounter an arguing husband and wife and soon learn that the argument has become violent. They discover that the husband attempted to murder his wife and leave her for dead in the wilderness, which provides him with a ready-made opportunity to fabricate a cover-up story.

Set against the backdrop of the harsh and unforgiving wilderness where human interaction is minimal, The River presents Jack and Wynn’s struggle to survive the dueling threats posed by the natural environment and human violence.

This guide refers to the 2019 Kindle edition of the book.

Content Warning: The novel and this guide include discussions of violence and an attempted rape.

Plot Summary

The opening pages introduce the two protagonists, Wynn and Jack. Both are recent graduates of Dartmouth College and wilderness-adventure seekers. They’ve journeyed to northern Ontario, Canada, for an extended canoe expedition that will take them through a series of lakes and more than 100 miles down a river that empties into Hudson Bay. The wilderness is remote and is a refuge for wildlife, including bears, moose, and caribou.

The novel quickly establishes one of its main plotlines as the men begin to smell smoke. Thinking that a fire may be somewhere in the vicinity, they climb an outcropping for a better view of the surrounding forest and sees signs of a huge forest fire in the distance. Understanding that they’re at a point in their journey where turning back isn’t a likely option, they decide to continue, hoping that they can outrun the looming fire. They soon pass the point of no return and are fatefully committed to their decision to continue downriver. Where the river empties into Hudson Bay is a town, and they hope to find shelter and safety there from the fire.

As they paddle through dense, eerie fog, they encounter two men who have beached their canoe and have set up camp. Drunk and vulgar, these men take no heed when Jack and Wynn try to warn them of the fire. Somewhat confused by this response, Jack and Wynn continue paddling through the fog and then hear a loud, heated argument between a man and a woman. Both Wynn and Jack feel a responsibility to warn the couple of the looming fire, but the fog is so dense that they can’t visually locate them; they can only hear the shouting.

Jack and Wynn decide to continue downriver, recognizing that time is critical, but then circle back to where they heard the shouting. However, they still find no trace of anyone in the vicinity. Again they resume paddling downriver and reach a landing for the first of several portages, this one around a waterfall. As they set up camp, they see a lone man paddling downriver on the wrong side, where the current will sweep him toward the waterfall. They whistle and scream to get his attention; finally, the solo traveler responds and manages to paddle to the landing. His name is Pierre, and as he beaches his canoe, he’s visibly shaken and appears panicked and afraid. He tells them that his wife, Maia, vanished in the fog and he could find no trace of her. Wynn and Jack agree to paddle back to where they heard the initial argument and, after some searching, find a seriously injured woman and administer basic medical care, which largely consists of trying to warm her up because she has hypothermia.

Jack immediately suspects that Pierre is responsible for her injuries, while Wynn is more open to all possibilities. After they successfully stabilize Maia, they return to the river and paddle back toward the landing, but before they reach it, Jack orders Wynn to steer the boat to the riverbank. There, they bushwhack along the bank and sneak up on Pierre, who they discover is waiting for them with his shotgun at the ready. Jack aims his own rifle at the man, while Wynn insists that they talk to him first. Jack concedes, and as they walk down to the landing, Wynn stumbles and loosens some rocks, which Pierre hears. He responds by firing on them. Jack returns fire, and in the tumult, Pierre escapes and heads downriver. Wynn and Jack find that Pierre stole or dumped all the provisions the two left behind during their rescue mission. Now they have only the gear they brought on their search for Maia, which includes their fishing gear, a rifle, and minimal food.

On the heels of the encounter with Pierre, the fire is beginning to encroach, and the smoke becomes increasingly thick. Maia’s condition gradually improves, and she reveals that Pierre did attempt to kill her. Both are scientists, and Maia was the more successful of the two, which enraged Pierre and stoked his envy; in addition, her family’s wealth was a likely motive.

Eventually, the fire is upon them. They stay in the canoe, but it capsizes when they lose control navigating violent rapids. Luckily, they’re all wearing life jackets and have tethered their gear to the canoe. They survive the fire by remaining half in the water and sheltered by the riverbank on the side away from the fire. The fire jumps the river, and Jack realizes that they can survive only by paddling to the other side, which is burnt and charred. There, they stand in the embers, unable to sit because they’d be burned, until they’re too fatigued to stand. They shelter for a while on a rock island in the river and the next day resume paddling. Their thoughts return to Pierre and how best to survive the threat he poses.

Eventually, they find the edge of the burn area. They take refuge in the verdant greenery and, while there, see the two campers they saw partying earlier in their journey. Their canoe has a trolling motor, and when they arrive at the camp, they’re grateful and generous, offering to share their food with Jack, Wynn, and Maia. They’re Texans, named Brent and JD, and are suspicious that Jack and Wynn have a badly injured woman with them, initially assuming the worst. Jack is wary of them, however, and stays up that night keeping watch on JD, who gets drunk and keeps looking at Maia asleep in the tent.

Jack dozes off and awakens to muffled screams. He discovers that JD is inside the tent with Maia and immediately responds by pulling JD from the tent and smashing his head with the butt of his rifle. Jack then quickly packs up their tent and other provisions, hustles Maia into the canoe, and tries to get Wynn to follow. Once Wynn realizes that Jack plans to steal the Texans’ canoe, he objects, awakening Brent, who grabs his rifle and shoots Wynn. Jack pulls his friend into the canoe and escapes; however, Wynn succumbs to his injuries and dies.

Knowing that Pierre is still waiting to ambush them, Jack steers the canoe out of sight and, instead of using the motor, paddles, allowing the Texans to pass and be the first to Pierre’s ambush. Because they’re using Jack and Wynn’s canoe, Pierre will think it’s them. However, when Jack finally approaches the landing to the river’s final portage, he sees that the Texans have shot and killed Pierre.

The epilogue ties up loose ends, and Jack makes it into town, as do the Texans. After some preliminary investigation by the authorities, neither the Texans nor Jack are charged with any crimes. Maia survives the ordeal and contacts Wynn’s mother, Hansie. Jack doesn’t attend Wynn’s funeral because of his internal sense of guilt that his actions in stealing the canoe led to his friend’s death. Later, Jack visits Wynn’s mother and sister, finding a better sense of closure.