This is a collection of 17 short stories and a preceding poem. Of the 16 stories, nine of them are about Canada or Canadians, and five of the other seven, set in the U.S., South Africa, and England, are narrated by Canadian natives. In an extensive review of the book, Glenys Stow says that action is the central theme of Thomson's stories: "a heroic father is swept over Niagara Falls; a lumberman's son works feverishly to salvage a broken crib of logs in order to support his starving family; ten soldiers in the Army of the Potomac gallop through the night carrying despatches at the risk of their lives," Canadian Literature, No. 66, Autumn, 1975, p. 122. In sum, the book provides a view of early Canadian life from a number of different perspectives.