The gray whale is probably the most watched of all the whales as their yearly migration along the Pacific coast brings them close to the many watchers on shore and in boats. Peterson, a nature writer, and Hogan, a Native American poet, spent seven years following the whales' migration and talking with people affected by the whales. The two voices of the authors are rendered in different type, with Hogan's more philosophical musing on the relationship between human and whale juxtaposed with Peterson's more reporterly presentation of gray whale natural history and of the people who interact with them. Starting with a visit to the calving grounds in San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja California, the authors socialize with the whales known as "friendlies" because they choose to approach people. Other sections follow the migration, showcase differing viewpoints on the Makah tribe's renewed hunting of whales and on aboriginal whaling in general, and discuss the summer home of the gray whales in the Arctic seas, where the whales feast and grow fat for their return journey south.